Coroners Court clears family of Dorothy Hookey of wrongdoing after she took her own life

There will be no coronial inquest as a result, and a spokesperson for Victoria Police said the investigation into the family has been dropped.

The investigation was launched after Dorothy, 86 – who was heavily involved with Exit International – took her own life on November 27, 2014, using Nembutal she had sourced from the United States.

Police had tried to determine whether the family had played a part in assisting Mrs Hookey in her death. The investigation started just hours after the death, and included a raid on the Spring Gully home in March 2015.

In her findings, Coroner Caitlin English found the family had known of Dorothy’s plans.

“The evidence suggests Mrs Hookey’s family was aware of her wishes and supportive, but did not assist her in any way,” she said in the report.

A brief of evidence was prepared, including statements from friends, family members, clinicians and police, which the Coroner drew upon.

Dorothy’s husband Graham Hookey found her unresponsive in her bed at 3.15am and called Triple 0. In his panic, Graham and his son attempted CPR.

Dorothy had left advanced care instructions not to be resuscitated in the event of her collapse. Paramedics pronounced her deceased upon arrival.

Police initially suspected the death was from natural causes, and did not notice the suicide note. Graham found it at 9.30am, when police arrived for a second time after Dorothy’s doctor refused to sign the death certificate.

“(The suicide note) indicated Mrs Hookey’s intention to end her life at her own time and choosing without any assistance from a third party,” the coroner’s report stated.

Graham recounted to police a conversation he had with Dorothy the night before, in which she said: “This is the night”.

Dorothy Hookey could never have imagined the police investigation that followed her death on November 27, 2014, her family believes.

The 86-year-old had studied assisted suicide for seven years through Exit International. She had planned her own death in her Spring Gully home, sourcing the drug and writing a carefully planned suicide note.

Dorothy had suffered chronic pain throughout her life, which had intensified following a number of falls. She was told that within months, she would be virtually unable to move.

It was then that she put her plan into practice. 

After enjoying a dinner with her husband Graham and their four children at their home, Dorothy went to bed and took Nembutal, ending her own life.

But her careful planning was not enough to prevent her family from becoming implicated in her death.

“She thought it was going to be clean cut, that once she had done it, that would be it,” Dorothy’s daughter Diana Hookey said.

The family believes the 19-month police investigation that followed her death would have left Dorothy “devastated”.

Now that the Coroners Court has cleared the family of any wrongdoing in her death, they have the opportunity to reflect on Dorothy’s lasting legacy: To raise the issue of dying with dignity as much as possible.

“The fact that people are talking about this now, I think she would have been immensely happy,” Diana said.

Ending her life had never been far from Dorothy’s mind for decades.

She suffered arthritis and chronic pain for much of her life, after being born with a congenital hip dislocation.

Dorothy suffered shoulder, hip and foot pain later in life, and could barely hold items in her hands. She had a knee placement in 2008.

Since 2010, her level of pain increased significantly and she had a number of falls. The pain became constant, and she was told just months from her death that she would be virtually bedridden.

Dorothy had discussed ending her life with her Golden Square GP in 2005, 2006 and 2014. The GP would not agree with her point of view, the Coroners Court found, while her regular attendance at Exit International was noted.

In 2007, she obtained Nembutal – the “peaceful pill” – from the United States.

Dorothy had met prominent pro-euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke – the director of Exit. She attended public meetings and seminars on the subject.

Her family, too, was well aware of her interest.

Diana said the topic came up more frequently as the years went on. They knew she grappled with the decision on an almost-daily basis.

“Can you imagine how difficult it is for someone to say: ‘Today, I’m going to die’,” Diana said.

“To do that, knowing that you are going to leave your family behind, must be so difficult

“Sometimes at the end of the day, she would say: ‘Today felt like the day, I felt I could do it’. But then she would find something she hadn’t attended to, like some chores, and always put it off.

“The decision means you’re going to leave the earth for good. There’s no going back.”

In September 2014 – just two months before her death – Dorothy took herself on a fact-finding mission. She had herself admitted to Mirridong Nursing Home for respite care, speaking to everyone she could.

She watched as residents of all levels of mobility took part in activities, and received general care. She also watched residents with extremely limited mobility – it made her worry.

Her husband Graham Hookey said her decision to be admitted to Mirridong was a surprise but, in the end, it did not shake her resolve.

“When she left, she told me she had now experienced life in an aged care facility, she knew what it was like,” he said.

“She told me I must never put her in that situation.”

Graham noted Dorothy was “feeling low”, she was increasingly fragile and they feared she might be “slipping away”. Dorothy could no longer stand on her own, and could not walk for several minutes once standing.

A “farewell dinner” was planned.

Dorothy wrote a suicide note in the presence of Graham before going to bed.

She was found dead at 3.15am. A toxicology report found she had died of Pentobarbitone toxicity, as a result of taking Nembutal. 

The family believes Dorothy’s death has helped others avoid police investigations. One family in Melbourne “went for a walk” to avoid being implicated in their loved-one’s death.

It shouldn’t have to be this way though, Graham believes.

“The Commonwealth should introduce legislation which permits people of sound mind to be able to do so without incriminating people who agree,” he said.

“Of course, there should always be safeguards. But I think anybody who saw what we had to go through would agree – it has to change.”

Graham and Diana spoke at a parliamentary inquiry into end of life choices at the Bendigo Town Hall in August last year.

They were left disappointed at a lack of focus on those who had not been diagnosed terminally ill, but were instead facing months, and years, of debilitating pain before their death.

Diana said it was unfair to force people to plan their deaths “in secret” to avoid implicating their families.

“If they have to do it secretly, it deprives the family of the right,” she said.

“You come into the world with your family around you, you should have the right to leave the world with your family around you as well.”