Grieving Parents Say Their Late Son’s Body Was Returned Home Without His Heart: ‘This Is Inhumane’

A grieving family in Australia is sharing the shocking moment they learned their late son’s body was returned without his heart.

Robert and Chantal Haddow, parents of 23-year-old Byron Haddow, who died on May 26 while on vacation in Bali, told News.com.au that their son’s body was sent back to Australia “nearly four weeks after his death.”

The missing heart was discovered during a second autopsy in Queensland. The family says Byron’s heart was removed and kept in Indonesia without their knowledge or consent, according to the outlet.

“We have endured delay after delay, half-truths and silence,” the parents said in a statement from their legal team obtained by the outlet.

“Two days before his funeral, we were told by the Queensland Coroner his heart had been taken and left behind in Bali — without our knowledge, without our consent, without any legal or moral justification. This is inhumane. This is devastating beyond words,” they added.

In an interview with News.com.au, Chantal said her “heart literally dropped” when she found out.

“We had a small amount of relief when we finally got our son back to Australia. We thought at least we could say goodbye to him and lay him to rest,” she said. “But then to learn they’d taken his heart and that no one else knew, not even the consulate in Bali, it was a big shock.”

The parents said they had to wait several months and pay $700 to have Byron’s heart returned. It was eventually brought back after his funeral and burial.

According to News.com.au, Byron was found floating unconscious in a pool inside a private villa. His death was not reported to the police until four days later, on May 30. By the time police arrived, the scene had already been disturbed.

His body was taken to a local private hospital, where a death certificate listed drowning as the suspected cause. It was then sent to the Bali Funeral Home to prepare for transport to Brisbane.

The family asked a friend to arrange an autopsy in Bali before Byron’s body returned to Australia. The body was sent to Ngurah General Hospital in Denpasar for a clinical autopsy, as requested by the family.

Dr. Nola Margaret Gunawan, who performed the autopsy, also received a request from Bali officials for a forensic autopsy. Forensic autopsies can include the removal of organs for study.

Speaking to News.com.au, Dr. Gunawan said, “We understand that the deceased is not just biological evidence. But if there are two requests for autopsies, obviously we have to give more priority to the legal matter. Pathologists all over the world do the same thing.”

The forensic medicine specialist explained that “consent is not required” for a forensic autopsy under the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code.

“Whole organ retention to determine the cause of death in forensic autopsies is a common practice all over the world. We cannot do a partial autopsy,” Dr. Gunawan added.

She said the probable cause of death was a combination of alcohol intoxication and an antidepressant called Duloxetine, which may have prevented Byron from getting out of the pool. However, there are scars and bruises on his body that could not be explained.

According to the outlet, Byron’s death is still under investigation. The Coroners Court of Queensland has not released additional information yet.

A GoFundMe was created for Byron’s family after his death. He was remembered as “a son, brother, and friend to many taken way too soon.”