Deceased
Catherine Elizabeth Browning
Demographics
47y, female
Coroner
State Coroner Judge Sara Hinchey
Date of death
2013-12-19
Finding date
2015-12-09
Cause of death
Stab wounds to the chest and neck
AI-generated summary
Catherine Elizabeth Browning, aged 47, was fatally stabbed 15 times by her estranged husband nine days after separation while sleeping at home. The coroner found stab wounds to chest and neck were the cause of death. No medical errors were identified. The death occurred in a family violence context with identifiable risk factors including recent separation, alcohol misuse, and financial difficulties. The husband's mental health had deteriorated following the separation. The coroner noted no prevention opportunities had been identified, as there were no prior reports of violence and no requests for assistance. The case highlights the elevated risk of homicide at relationship separation and the importance of mental health support and family awareness during this vulnerable period.
AI-generated summary — refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Drugs involved
IN THE CORONERS COURT Court Reference: COR 2013 5843
OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE FINDING INTO DEATH WITHOUT INQUEST Form 38 Rule 60(2) Section 67 of the Coroners Act 2008 The finding into the death of Catherine Elizabeth Browning, dated 9 December 2015, is hereby amended pursuant to section 76 of the Coroners Act 2008 Findings of: JUDGE SARA HINCHEY, STATE CORONER Deceased: CATHERINE ELIZABETH BROWNING Date of birth: 10 August 1966 Date of death: 19 December 2013 Cause of death: Stab wounds to the chest and neck Place of death: 3 Natisone Place, Skye, Victoria Catchwords Family violence homicide; death resulted directly from injury; was unexpected, violent, and not from natural causes
TABLE OF CONTENTS Background 1 The purpose of a coronial investigation 1 Matters in relation to which the Coroner must, if possible, make a finding
Identity of the deceased, pursuant to section 67(1)(a) of the Act 3
Medical cause of death, pursuant to section 67(1)(b) of the Act 3
Circumstances in which the death occurred, pursuant to section 67(1)(c) 3 of the Act Comments pursuant to section 67(3) of the Act 4 Findings and conclusion 6
Catherine Elizabeth Browning (Mrs Browning) was a 47-year-old woman, who lived with her two daughters and recently estranged husband at 3 Natisone Place, Skye, Victoria, (the family home) at the time of her death.
Mrs Browning was married to Brian Browning for 21 years prior to her death. However, they had separated nine days prior to Mrs Browning’s death. Despite this, they had both remained living at the family home.
There was no history of family violence in Mr and Mrs Browning’s relationship and no reports to Victoria Police of family violence incidents prior to Mrs Browning’s death.
Mr and Mrs Browning reportedly both gambled, occasionally beyond their means, and engaged in binge drinking. In the weeks prior to Mrs Browning’s death, Mr Browning reportedly suffered from a decline in his mental health, in relation to the separation, and this was affecting his ability to sleep.
Mrs Browning’s death constituted a ‘reportable death’ under the Coroners Act 2008 (Vic) (the Act), as the death occurred in Victoria and resulted directly from injury and was unexpected, violent and not from natural causes.1
The jurisdiction of the Coroners Court of Victoria is inquisitorial.2 The Act provides for a system whereby reportable deaths are independently investigated to ascertain, if possible, the identity of the deceased person, the cause of death and the circumstances in which death occurred.3
It is not the role of the coroner to lay or apportion blame, but to establish the facts.4 It is not the coroner’s role to determine criminal or civil liability arising from the death under 1 Section 4 Coroners Act 2008.
2 Section 89(4) Coroners Act 2008.
3 See Preamble and s 67, Coroners Act 2008.
4 Keown v Khan (1999) 1 VR 69.
investigation, or to determine disciplinary matters.
The expression ‘cause of death’ refers to the medical cause of death, incorporating where possible, the mechanism of death.
For coronial purposes, the circumstances in which death occurred refers to the context or background and surrounding circumstances of the death. Rather than being a consideration of all of the circumstances which might form part of a narrative culminating in the death, it is confined to those circumstances which are sufficiently proximate to be considered relevant to the death.
The broader purpose of coronial investigations is to contribute to a reduction in the number of preventable deaths, both through the observations made in the investigation findings and by the making of recommendations by coroners. This is generally referred to as the ‘prevention’ role.
(a) to report to the Attorney-General on a death;
(b) to comment on any matter connected with the death they have investigated, including matters of public health or safety and the administration of justice; and
(c) to make recommendations to any Minister or public statutory authority on any matter connected with the death, including public health or safety or the administration of justice. These powers are the vehicles by which the prevention role may be advanced.
All coronial findings must be made based on proof of relevant facts on the balance of probabilities. In determining these matters, I am guided by the principles enunciated in Briginshaw v Briginshaw.5 The effect of this and similar authorities is that coroners should not make adverse findings against, or comments about, individuals unless the evidence provides a comfortable level of satisfaction that they caused or contributed to the death.
In conducting this investigation, I have made a thorough forensic examination of the evidence including reading and considering the witness statements and other documents in the coronial brief.
MATTERS IN RELATION TO WHICH THE CORONER MUST, IF POSSIBLE, MAKE A FINDING Identity of the Deceased, pursuant to section 67(1)(a) of the Act
Medical cause of death, pursuant to section 67(1)(b) of the Act
On 19 December 2013, Dr Yeleina Baber, a Forensic Pathologist practising at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, conducted an examination of Mrs Browning’s body and provided a written report, dated 28 March 2014. In that report, Dr Baber concluded that a reasonable cause of death was ‘Stab wounds to the chest and neck’.
Dr Baber commented that the force required to inflict the stab wounds was “at least ‘severe’, based on the anatomical structures injured” and that there was some natural disease present, which had not contributed to death.
Toxicological analysis of the post mortem samples taken from Mrs Browning were negative for common drugs or poisons.
Circumstances in which the death occurred, pursuant to section 67(1)(c) of the Act
On the evening of 18 December 2013, Mrs Browning attended a Christmas party at Mordialloc. On arriving at the family home at 11.15pm, Mrs Browning went to bed in her daughter’s bedroom.
Just after 6.00am on 19 December 2013, Mr Browning got out of bed and went into the kitchen, where he obtained a knife with an 18cm blade from the knife block.
Mr Browning then went into the bedroom where Mrs Browning was sleeping. He tapped her on the shoulder and then immediately stabbed her 15 times to the upper body, upper chest, neck and throat area.
Mrs Browning screamed and attempted to defend herself from the attack. On hearing her mother screaming, their daughter Amy went toward the bedroom. As she approached the bedroom, Amy saw her father walking out of the bedroom with a bloodied knife in his hand.
Mr Browning threw the knife on the floor, said the word “bitch” and walked away.
Amy yelled “what have you done?”, but Mr Browning did not reply. Amy then went into the room to assist her mother, who had already stopped breathing.
Police and ambulance officers attended the family home a short time later. Mrs Browning was unable to be revived and was declared deceased.
Mr Browning was found sitting at a garden setting in the backyard. When police officers asked him what happened, Mr Browning replied “I’ve killed my wife”.
Family violence
For the purposes of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic), the intimate personal relationship between Mrs Browning and her husband Mr Browning was one that fell within the definition of ‘family member’. Moreover, recent separation has been established as a factor that increases the risk of family violence homicide6. On this basis, the death of Mrs Browning was considered to have occurred in the context of family violence.
As a result, I requested that the Coroners Prevention Unit (CPU)7 examine the circumstances of Mrs Browning’s death as part of the Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths
6 Wilson M, Daly M. Spousal homicide risk and estrangement. Violence and Victims. 1993, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 3-16.
7 The Coroners Prevention Unit is a specialist service for Coroners established to strengthen their prevention role and provide them with professional assistance on issues pertaining to public health and safety.
8 The VSRFVD provides assistance to Victorian Coroners to examine the circumstances in which family violence deaths occur. In addition, the VSRFVD collects and analyses information on family violence-related deaths. Together this information assists with the identification of systemic prevention-focused recommendations aimed at reducing the incidence of family violence in the Victorian community.
The CPU identified that there was no indication that Mr Browning intended to harm Mrs Browning, nor did Mr or Mrs Browning seek any assistance in relation to the separation and therefore there were no opportunities for intervention.
Following Mrs Browning’s decision to end the marriage, which Mr Browning was reportedly reluctant to agree to, Mr Browning was described as appearing upset and depressed. He had also begun smoking again. Mr Browning’s daughter, Amy, had identified a deterioration in Mr Browning’s mental health and suggested that he should see a doctor and obtain some sleeping tablets. Instead, Mr Browning obtained Restavit over the counter at a chemist. Amy’s encouragement of her father to seek assistance is to be commended. Tragically, Mr Browning did not seek professional support or intervention.
The “R U OK?” campaign seeks to prevent suicide by encouraging family, friends and colleagues who notice someone appears not to be coping well, to ask that person whether or not they are okay. The CPU suggested that the “R U OK?” campaign could be adapted by Victorian family violence services for development of a similar awareness campaign in relation to (primarily) women in high risk situations, such as at separation. A campaign of this style could encourage friends, family and colleagues to ask a person whether they believe they need a safety plan.
Criminal proceedings
Mr Browning was arrested at the scene and later charged with murder in relation to Mrs Browning’s death.
Mr Browning’s legal counsel submitted at the trial that Mr Browning was suffering from a mental impairment and adverse effects of the drug Restavit at the time he killed Mrs Browning. The jury rejected that proposition. The Court rejected the possibility of a druginduced psychosis, but accepted that Mr Browning’s mental state could have been compromised by taking four to six Restavit tablets. Justice Lasry took this into account in relation to moderation of the sentencing considerations of specific and general deterrence.
Justice Lasry remarked that: “there exists a fundamental community expectation that domestic violence be denounced and denounced in the strongest of terms… In Felicite v R,9 Redlich JA noted that, in the context of
spousal murder “the principles of general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment will ordinarily be given primacy in sentencing for the murder of a domestic partner in a domestic setting even when there are present, circumstances of provocation or great emotional distress”; and the Court of Appeal has made clear (that) a murder committed in circumstances of domestic strain and tension is not to be regarded as falling into a less serious category.10
On 9 October 2014, Mr Browning was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 14 years.
In the course of my investigation, having considered all of the available evidence, I did not identify any prevention matters arising from the circumstances of Mrs Browning’s death.
I am also satisfied, having considered all of the available evidence, that no further investigation is required.
(a) the identity of the deceased was Catherine Elizabeth Browning, born 10 August 1966;
(b) the death occurred on 19 December 2013 at 3 Natisone Place Skye, Victoria, from stab wounds to the chest and neck; and
(c) the death occurred in the circumstances set out above.
(a) Amy Browning, senior next of kin.
(b) Sergeant Miranda Stubbs, Victoria Police, Coroner’s Investigator.
10 R v Gojanovic (no 2) [2007] VSCA 152.
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