Death film handed to Terri Irwin

The Australian ^ | 4th January 2006 | Michael McKenna

[naturalman1975]

THE wife of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has been handed the footage of his death after Queensland authorities broke with protocol to ensure it did not pass into the wrong hands.

State Coroner Michael Barnes told The Australian that such footage was normally held by the Coroner in perpetuity but copies of film showing Irwin being gored by a stingray had been destroyed amid fears it would be leaked and sold on the black market.

Mr Barnes said the original tape was handed to Terri Irwin just before Christmas, with the coronial investigation into the death almost completed.

"When the final police investigation report is received, the Coroner will, in consultation with Ms Irwin, determine whether an inquest is necessary," he said.

The tapes have been held in the safe in Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson's office since a few days after Irwin was stabbed in the heart by the stingray's barb as he was being filmed snorkelling for a new documentary series off Port Douglas, far north Queensland.

Under the usual protocols of a coronial investigation, any film or audio evidence would be handed back to the owners and a copy made for the state files to be held in perpetuity.

But Mr Barnes said he had concerns the tape would be sold to unscrupulous operators on the internet, who he had been informed would be willing to pay up to $1 million for a copy.

"We always give originals back to the owners of the property and usually keep a copy on the file for future reference," he said. "I am not sure whether we will be doing that in this case because of the risk it poses.

[naturalman1975]

You might find this interesting.

[SevenofNine]

That good you know what you know the video would end up on Stupid YOU TUBE

[Vicomte13]

"Mr Barnes said the original tape was handed to Terri Irwin just before Christmas"

Uhhh...Merry Christmas?
Crikey!

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Hoopla over the Saddam video is dying down and there is demand for new material.

[mom4kittys]

Thank you! I will ping my list.

[mom4kittys]

Ping

[processing please hold]

I hope she burns it post-haste.

[mom4kittys]

Gosh, I hope they don't keep a copy on file! That would surely leak out at some point in time.

[Howlin]

Thank goodness!

Somebody, somewhere on the planet Earth did the right thing.

Thanks for the ping, Mom!

[paulat]

That good you know what you know the video would end up on Stupid YOU TUBE

Do you know how to make a coherent sentence?

[keat]

Do you know how to make a coherent sentence?

English may not be her first language, but she's a solid freeper. She wasn't calling you stupid.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Do you know how to make a coherent sentence?

Sheesh. And I thought I was a nitpicker.

SevenofNine's Borg implants are probably just acting up again.

[InvincibleMoon]

i'm glad they gave it to her,& not try to get some money off of this tragedy.i hope she burns it.
i dont want to see it end up on the net,to show something like that is would be just disrepectfull to a kind,loving man like Steve.
one time i was looking online for pictures of one of my favorite comedic actors,Chris Farley & came across pics of his corpse-it was horrible i was upset.

[Screamname]

Not that I care to see it, but I have a feeling Steve wouldn`t have cared one way or the other if it was shown. After all he`s said on many occassions stuff like "I don`t care if a croc rips my head off, I want those cameras rolling". He was always about the audience seeing everything no matter what.

[naturalman1975]

I suspect you are right. He made his wishes on this quite clear, and part of me thinks they should be respected.

But speaking as a father and a husband, if something happened to me... I honestly would want my wife and my children to do what is right for them no matter what my wishes were. I would hate to think that my desires caused them pain that came from some desire to honour my wishes. And so, I have to say I respect the decision that this should not be shown.

Remember me when I am gone away
Gone far away into the silent land
When you can no more hold me by the hand
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay
Remember me when no more, day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad

[Kimmers]

Thanks for the ping.

In this day of stooping to all sorts of low levels to make a buck, I am glad this did not get out to the world.

It is a good thing the Irwin's' privacy was protected.

[nmh]

I hope she personally destroyed it.

[Rte66]

Good. I'm glad Terri has it. I'm still of a mind, however, that it should not be destroyed, as I have been all along.

If Terri wants to, and Bindi and little Bob agree to it, I would have to concur with that, but it would not be my preference. I think they might regret it years from now, if they do.

Prayers for all the Irwins. Looking forward to seeing them "out and about" in 2007.

[Sue Perkick]

I'm glad she has it. Too many nuts out there. If it were me, I believe I would destroy it without seeing it. But she knows best about the right way to handle it for herself. But assuming they are telling the truth hopefully it will never turn up on the internet.



Thanks for the ping