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Bali Police drop investigations into deaths of two Australians at families’ requests
“The family has refused [a clearance for an] autopsy, saying they had already accepted [Tolley’s death]. They said the victim had a disease, which might have caused the death,” said Kuta Police investigation unit head First Insp. Bagus Nagara Baranacita.
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Bali Police have dropped their investigations into the deaths of two Australians found dead on the island earlier this month. The decision was made following requests from the respective families of the victims.
On May 5, Australian Christopher Steven Tolley was found lifeless in his hotel room in Seminyak, a beach resort area in southern Bali.
The 48-year-old was found dead on the bed of his hotel room on Tuesday afternoon after missing his check-out time. His body was taken to the Sanglah Hospital for further investigation. A swab test for COVID-19 came back negative.
Kuta Police investigation unit head First Insp. Bagus Nagara Baranacita said the family of Tolley had been contacted through the Australian consulate in Bali.
“The family has refused [a clearance for an] autopsy, saying they had already accepted [Tolley’s death]. They said the victim had a disease, which might have caused the death,” Bagus said.
The family told the police that the victim had suffered a collapsed lung, or pneumothorax. Due to his health condition, Tolley was advised to stop drinking alcohol.
Read also: Bali's Denpasar to impose COVID-19 restrictions that keep businesses running
As soon as the COVID-19 test came back negative, Bagus said, the police conducted a preliminary investigation of the hotel room.
“We found some alcoholic beverages in the hotel room,” Bagus said, adding that there were no signs of violence in the room.
Police also checked the CCTV footage, which showed the front door of Trolley’s hotel room.
“We investigated the CCTV [footage] and we found nothing suspicious. No one else, other than [Tolley], came in and out of the room,” said Bagus.
An external examination by Sanglah Hospital also found no signs of violence on the body.
Separately, on May 6, Kevin James Nunn from West Australia was found dead in his rented house in North Denpasar. He was 58.
Read also: Police probe deaths of three foreigners in Bali
Police began an investigation into Nunn’s death, initially seeking to determine if he had been poisoned after consuming two cans of expired soft drink. However, Nunn’s family requested that police stop the investigation.
“The family has denied [the authorities permission to] conduct an autopsy. They said they accepted his death,” said West Denpasar Police investigation unit head First Insp. Andi Muh Nurul Yaqin, adding that the COVID-19 swab test conducted on Nunn had come back negative.
