The boyfriend of a German backpacker who was crushed by a ride-on mower could have dedicated a crime on the time of her demise, a coroner has discovered.
Jennifer Kohl, 27, arrived in Australia in February 2017 on a working vacation along with her 27-year-old companion Paul Tunik. They had began work on an avocado farm at Tamborine Mountain, about 20km north-west of the Gold Coast, when she died in a freak accident.
A coronial inquest final month discovered that Ms Kohl had intercourse with Mr Tunik in distant bush on the farm that day. She then hopped onto a ride-on mower along with her companion when the car overturned on a slope, killing her.
Coroner Carol Lee discovered she had a ‘cheap suspicion that an indictable offence had been dedicated by Mr Tunik’ when Ms Kohl died.
Ms Kohl’s mom Cornelia had flown from Europe to attend the inquest and delivered a blistering message to her daughter’s boyfriend when the findings had been launched.
Jennifer Kohl, 27, was killed in a garden mowing accident on a rural property in Queensland in December, 2017
In her findings, the coroner dominated that Ms Kohl and Mr Tunik had completed their work for the day once they went to an unused and out-of-sight space of the property to have intercourse.
Mr Tunik then coaxed Ms Kohl to journey again with him on the four-by-four ride-on mower that had a trailer hooked up to it as a part of a ‘romantic gesture’.
Mr Tunik was driving the mower with Ms Kohl on the wheel arch once they went down a steep slope and rolled.
Ms Kohl was trapped below the mower and regardless of Mr Tunik’s efforts to take away the heavy piece of business gear and name for assist, she was unable to be saved.
A two-day inquest into Ms Kohl’s demise was held in May final yr, with Coroner Lee handing down her findings in December.
‘I’ve shaped an inexpensive suspicion that an indictable offence has been dedicated by Mr Tunik,’ she stated.
‘Not having obtained a submission from Mr Tunik after affording him a chance to make a submission, I make a referral to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.’
Mr Tunik didn’t present proof on the inquest.
‘Consequently, I discover that Mr Tunik and Ms Kohl had accomplished the work that had been assigned to them on the day of the accident and had engaged in sexual activity in a disused and out of sight a part of the property, on a joyride pretending the property was theirs,’ Coroner Lee stated.
‘Such exercise on the mower was unauthorised and in departure from the directions given to them.’
At the time of the incident, there was a delay in emergency providers arriving on the scene partially as a result of Mr Tunik’s restricted English when he rang Triple Zero.
Mr Tunik flagged down passing vehicles however even with the assistance of three bystanders Ms Kohl couldn’t be freed.
Ms Kohl’s mom Cornelia is seen arriving for the inquest into her daughter’s demise in Queensland in May final yr
Paramedics arrived and extracted Ms Kohl however she couldn’t be revived. An post-mortem later confirmed Ms Kohl died from traumatic asphyxia.
Coroner Lee discovered the farm’s co-owners, Kathryn Singleton and Kenneth Jacobi, had supplied enough instruction and supervision to the 2 adults for utilizing the mower and trailer in designated areas.
The farm house owners had stated that Mr Tunik had advised them he ‘coaxed’ his girlfriend into sitting on the mower with him, regardless of her telling him she didn’t need to.
Ms Kohl’s mom Cornelia travelled from Germany to Queensland for the inquest.
She shared a stern message on the time the findings had been delivered to her daughter’s boyfriend, which has beforehand been unreported.
‘Should YOU (Paul Tunik) ever journey to Australia once more, costume warmly!!! The police are ready and can be pleased to obtain you!’ she wrote on Facebook on December 1.
In her findings, Ms Lee advisable the Department of Home Affairs arrange a ‘one cease store’ web site for vacation employees to advise them of office well being and security in addition to their statutory rights in Australia.
The coroner expressed her honest condolences to Ms Kohl’s household over the tragic accident.
‘Her demise has had an influence on many individuals, specifically her mom who travelled from Germany for the inquest,’ she stated.