Australian mother learns Bali death body returned home without heart

A Queensland family is pursuing answers after Byron Haddow, a 23-year-old from the Sunshine Coast, died while holidaying in Bali in May. His body was flown back to Australia, but the family later learned that his heart had not accompanied him, prompting questions about the autopsy process and the repatriation timeline.

The initial Bali autopsy had indicated that Mr. Haddow likely died from a lethal mix of alcohol intoxication and the antidepressant duloxetine. The Haddow family pressed for a forensic autopsy and for his entire body to be returned home. The Queensland Coroner’s Office later disclosed that the heart had been retained in Bali, a revelation that Byron’s mother, Chantal Haddow, described as “a kick in the guts.” She told Nine News that police delivered the news and that, while they were processing the loss, she suspected foul play and that something might have happened before he entered the pool. “Call it mother’s instinct, but I wasn’t having a bar of it,” she said, adding that she and her husband hoped for a complete explanation.

Byron Haddow, a 178 cm tall man, died while on a well-earned break in Bali after being found in a private villa’s plunge pool about 150 cm deep. The family’s grief was compounded by delays in repatriating his body as officials requested a forensic autopsy and then coordinated the return of his heart. The heart’s repatriation occurred roughly two days before his funeral, giving the family little time to pause arrangements. “Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any more heartbroken, it was another kick in the guts,” Mrs. Haddow said.

Indonesian forensic pathologist Dr. Nola Margaret Gunawan explained that a forensic autopsy involves removing organs for weighing and dissection by design, and those organs are typically returned to the body later in the process. She told Nine News that she did not see the Haddows’ emails requesting their son’s “entire body” be sent home, but, regardless of whether she had seen the message, she would have removed the organs under Indonesian procedure. “For a clinical autopsy, consent is required from the next of kin to retain organs. But for a forensic autopsy, according to the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code, consent is not required,” Dr. Gunawan said, adding, “We cannot do a partial autopsy.”

Forensic science experts emphasize that autopsies in cases of death that are suspicious, violent, or unexplained typically involve full organ removal for testing and documentation. Dr. Xanthé Mallett, a forensic anthropologist and criminologist, said, “All organs are removed from the body during a forensic autopsy to be weighed and dissected and then, as standard practice, returned to the body.”

An Australian Federal Police investigation into Mr. Haddow’s death is ongoing, and local autopsy results remain pending four months after the death. Mrs. Haddow described the process as “a long and dragged-out” ordeal, saying she and her husband continued to seek clarity about what happened on the Indonesian island.

Byron Haddow’s family has characterized him as generous, kind-hearted, and hard-working, noting he was on a break from the FIFO life on the Sunshine Coast when tragedy struck. The case has drawn renewed attention to international repatriation policies and the forensic procedures used in Bali and Indonesia. Officials have not publicly stated any conclusions about foul play, and authorities continue to pursue evidence through both Indonesian and Australian channels as investigations progress.