Veronica Nelson’s death in Melbourne’s Dame Phyllis Frost jail led to callous boss’s email

A prison boss told staff not to take the death of an Indigenous inmate ‘personally’ and said her family were looking for ‘someone to blame’, according to a leaked email.

The email from Dame Phyllis Frost prison manager Tracy Jones was sent in April, 2020 following the release of harrowing footage and audio revealing Veronica Nelson’s agonised pleas for help while suffering heroin withdrawal.

Despite her repeated cries of anguish in the early hours of January 1, 2020, including a heart-wrenching wail of ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy’, Nelson was given only one visit through the night by a nurse and was found dead in her cell at 8am. 

In the email sent by Ms Jones, she tells staff of the Melbourne jail that the footage was part of ‘a very negative picture’ being ‘painted by media’, which had ‘sensationalised’ the interactions Nelson had with staff on the night she died. 

Ms Jones notes the ‘disturbing and distressing’ footage shows Nelson ‘vomiting and screaming in her cell and it’s pretty horrendous!’ 

She informs staff that the prison lost a legal challenge to blur the faces of prison employees interacting with Nelson and this was ‘very unfortunate for staff and their families’.

In releasing his findings the Coroner said Nelson’s treatment had been ‘cruel and degrading’ and her death had been preventable.

Harrowing footage and audio shows Nelson, who weighed only 33kg when she died, pleading for help

After a night of vomiting Nelson was found to weigh only 33kg when she died. 

She was on remand after being denied bail on charges of shoplifting and other outstanding warrants, offences that the Coroner said would have been unlikely to see her jailed when the case went to court. 

In evidence given to the Coroner some weeks after the leaked email was sent, Ms Jones agreed that staff had lacked compassion for Nelson.

‘The fact that she died in our care means we failed her,’ Ms Jones told the inquest.

Lawyers representing Nelson’s mother, Aunty Donna Nelson, said the leaked email betrayed the callousness of the jail. 

Despite her desperate begging for help and anguished cry of ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy’, staff only attended Nelson’s cell once through the night where a nurse passed medicine through the door

‘Coroner McGregor commenced his landmark finding wondering how Veronica’s heart-wrenching pleas were ignored,’ Robinson Gill lawyer Ali Besiroglu told.

‘This cruel email by the Governor of DPFC provides insight into the insensitive culture that existed from the top down.

‘This wasn’t the media being sensational — the only thing sensational about the evidence was the lack of empathy and humanity afforded by the Governor and her employees.’

Veronica Nelson’s family have been demanding justice after a coroner gave a damning verdict on how her last hours in prison were ‘cruel and degrading

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the email was very concerning and vowed his government would take action.

‘That’s not acceptable to me in any way, this is a terribly tragedy,’ he said.

‘Again I offer my full apology and again state that I and the government will take full responsibility to make profound reform as a result of what occurred to Veronica Nelson.’

On the night Nelson died prison guards called nurse Atheana George but she had told them the she didn’t believe the Indigenous woman seemed that unwell.

Ms George only went to see Nelson once through the night, passing her medication, including Panadol, through a panel in the cell door.

The nurse said she didn’t go in to assess Nelson as the prison guard in attendance had treated her so badly she was ‘scared to ask her to open the door that day’.

The nurse also denied guards told her how unwell Nelson looked.

It was also revealed she put on movies during the night and although she said they were only ‘background noise’, monitors showed her intently watching the screen for hours while Nelson was screaming for help.