Peter Howard inquest: Coroner unable to decide if Adelaide dad died from suicide or spontaneous combustion

The family of a man who man who died in a horrific car fire have been left devastated after an inquest was unable to determine if he died from suicide or spontaneous combustion. 

The heartbroken family of Peter Howard, 59, said that they ‘had hoped to get some level of justice’ from the inquest into his death.

The beloved father-of-three was working at Orora’s packaging facility in Adelaide’s north-west when his vehicle exploded on August 28, 2018.

He had purchased three 20L cans of fuel and parked in full view of staff shortly before his car set alight.

South Australian Deputy State Coroner Ian White handed down his inquest findings on Thursday, almost six years after Mr Howard’s death.

However, he was unable to conclude whether the 59-year-old died from suicide or spontaneous combustion. 

The coroner heard that Mr Howard had spent 27 years working for Orora but was relentlessly bullied by a group of co-workers, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.

In gut-wrenching entries in his work diary, which he kept for 20 years, Mr Howard detailed his colleagues abusing, teasing and pranking him.

He filed his first report of workplace bullying in 2014. 

‘It had been assumed by many people for many years in the lead up to this inquest that Mr Howard’s death was an intentional suicide in direct response to bullying that he had been subject to at his workplace,’ Mr White said.

Mr White recalled an incident on April 16, 2014, when a co-worker played a prank on Mr Howard.

‘A coworker, acting alone, decided to put chilli flakes in Mr Howard’s drink bottle without his knowledge. Mr Howard was extremely upset by this prank,’ he said.

‘There was an incident on Thursday, March 18, 2015, where Mr Howard’s forklift seat was tampered with by someone.’

An inquest on Thursday ruled it couldn’t determine if Mr Howard (pictured) died from suicide or spontaneous combustion

The father-of-three died after his car exploded outside Orora’s packaging facility in Adelaide ‘s north-west

Mr Howard’s GP, Dr Barry Nicholson, said the father had referenced ‘workplace issues’ when discussing his mental health 21 times across 105 visits in 28 years. 

Orora’s HR manager claimed she had ‘not identified a pattern of bullying and harassment of Mr Howard’ prior to his death.

Mr White said he could not conclude why the vehicle had combusted.

‘Ultimately, the evidence does not leave me comfortably satisfied to find that he died from suicide or spontaneous ignition,’ he said.

Members of Mr Howard’s grieving family were in court for the findings and left disappointed.

‘I think Peter has totally been failed. Failed at the workplace,’ his sister Carmel Schwartz told reporters.

‘No one’s being held to account.

‘He did everything humanly possible and none of it worked.

‘I had hoped [Mr White] would find Peter suicided and acknowledge that bullying was the cause.’ 

Mr Howard’s family was left devastated by the coroner’s findings on Thursday. He’s pictured with his wife Sharon

Mr Howard’s wife Sharon couldn’t bring herself to attend court throughout the inquest. 

‘I think she’s been worn down by this process. I still had hope we would get some level of justice but it wasn’t meant to be,’ Ms Schwartz said. 

‘He filled in incident reports, he spoke to his HR manager, to management, to co-workers. He did everything possible. He spoke to his GP, he did everything humanly possible and none of it worked.

‘He could have lodged a stop-bullying order. You can go to the Fair Work Commission and lodge a stop bullying order and then they will be held accountable.’

Mr Howard’s workplace has since implemented a number of changes in the wake of the tragedy.

‘Orora takes its responsibilities for the health, safety and wellbeing of our people extremely seriously,’ a spokeswoman told the ABC.

‘The company continues to invest in safety training including comprehensive programs for identifying and responding to bullying and supporting the mental and physical health of our people.’

‘We hope the finalisation of this process helps to bring some closure to all involved,’ she said.

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