Family of Australian tourist demands answers after Bali death, heart removal reported

The family of Byron Haddow, a 23-year-old Australian FIFO worker from Noosa, is demanding answers from Indonesian authorities after his death in Bali was described as suspicious and his heart reportedly removed during an autopsy." Haddow was found unconscious in a private villa pool on May 26, and his body was repatriated to Australia about four weeks later. It was only after a second autopsy in Queensland that his heart was found to be missing, prompting questions from his parents about what happened to their son.

The Bali police and coroner have described Haddow’s death as suspicious, with drowning listed as the cause on the Bali death certificate. At 178 cm tall, Haddow’s height has led his family to question how he could drown in a pool that was reportedly 150 cm deep. His parents, Robert and Chantal Haddow, say they experienced ongoing delays in obtaining information about how he died and why his heart was removed, with the family learning of the organ’s removal only shortly before his funeral.

Following his death in Bali, Haddow was transported to BIMC hospital before his body was handed to a Bali funeral home for repatriation to Brisbane. An initial autopsy was conducted on May 30 at Ngurah General Hospital at the family’s request to determine the cause of death and to recover Haddow’s entire body. The body had to thaw after being frozen at the funeral home, delaying the autopsy by four days. Forensic autopsy results indicated that Haddow was likely killed by a lethal combination of alcohol intoxication and the antidepressant duloxetine, though the pathologist said she could not determine whether the death was an accident, suicide or homicide. Dr. Nola Margaret Gunawan added that, under Indonesian law, consent is not required for forensic autopsies and that the heart’s removal would be consistent with such procedures, though she acknowledged the family’s emails requesting that the entire body be sent home.

The heart was returned to Australia only months after Haddow’s death, after his funeral had already taken place. The family was also told they would need to pay an additional about $700 to have the heart repatriated. The case is now the subject of an open coronial investigation in Queensland, but no findings have yet been released by The Coroners Court of Queensland.

In interviews, Haddow’s mother described the handling of her son’s death as inhumane, saying the family was not informed of the organ removal and that communication from officials was delayed or unclear. She and her husband have said that repeated delays in learning what had happened and why the heart was removed have compounded their grief and left them seeking accountability from Indonesian authorities and the Bali coroner.

Indonesian police reportedly became aware of Haddow’s death four days after the incident, and the scene at the villa was described as contaminated when officers arrived. Dr. Gunawan stated that even if the family’s email requesting the entire body be sent home had been seen, the organ removal would still have occurred under Indonesian forensic practice. The case’s ultimate cause remains unresolved, with the coroner emphasizing that forensic autopsies are designed to determine cause and manner of death for legal proceedings in suspicious or unexplained cases, and that certain findings can take months to finalize.

Haddow’s travels to Bali were part of a pattern of mining work across the Northern Territory, including a trip he took less than a year before his death. His final social media posts showed him dining at a beachside restaurant in Kuta and at a property with a large pool deck, posts that his family has said provide a glimpse of his life but do not illuminate the circumstances of his death or the missing heart.