Family express grief at inquest into Tammy Shipley's death at Silverwater Correctional

The inquest has restarted, after a challenge by NSW Police not to examine their interactions with the 47-year-old in the lead up to her death was rejected.

Tammy Shipley had significant mental health issues in the years leading up to her detention on remand in 2022. She has been remembered as a loving mother and daughter by her family. Supplied: Aboriginal Legal Service

Warning: this article contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has died, with the permission of her family.

The family of an Indigenous woman have shared their heartbreak in the wake of her death in custody

A coronial inquest is examining the medical, administrative and systemic circumstances surrounding the death of Tammy Shipley at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre in December 2022.

Shipley, 47, died on 20 December 2022 while on remand in New South Wales.

A postmortem examination found the cause of death was hyponatraemia - a severe dilution of sodium in the blood - associated with excessive water consumption in the context of schizoaffective disorder.

Ms Shipley's family expressed their grief in statements to the court on Wednesday.

"Losing my mum is like a bleeding hand holding a stem of thorns while being told to look at the rose," said one of her daughters.

"If love could have saved her, she could have lived forever."

Shipley's condition not identified despite patrols

Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer SC, told the court that detention centre records and CCTV footage showed Shipley repeatedly accessing water over a sustained period on the morning of her death.

The court heard that the pattern of consumption was consistent with acute psychiatric disturbance linked to polydipsia.

Evidence indicates her condition worsened late in the morning.

Although officers conducted routine patrols of the unit, her medical distress was not identified until early afternoon, when staff attempted to communicate with her directly and found her unresponsive.

Health personnel attended and commenced resuscitation efforts, which were unsuccessful.

The inquest has also considered the information available to authorities at the time Shipley entered custody.

The court heard she had a documented history of severe mental illness, including psychotic episodes, and prior contact with police and emergency mental health responders.

That history was not formally conveyed to corrective services when she was remanded.

Ms Shipley died in Silverwater Correctional in 2022 after drinking 20 litres of water. Source: AAP

Shipley had been arrested in September 2022 over shoplifting matters and an alleged breach of bail.

When she appeared before a local court in mid-December, documentation relating to an earlier bail revocation was not reflected in the material before the magistrate.

As a result, although one matter was finalised, she remained in custody on another outstanding charge.

The inquest itself was delayed after the NSW Police Commissioner initiated proceedings challenging the scope of the inquiry.

Police argued that officers’ interactions with Shipley prior to her imprisonment fell outside the coroner’s jurisdiction.

The matter was referred to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which determined that the inquiry before State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan could examine not only the medical cause of death but also the broader institutional and procedural circumstances leading to her continued detention.

Following that ruling, the inquest resumed, and is continuing.