THE MOTHER of an Indigenous Dunghutti man who died in custody late last year hopes that a rally in Kempsey will aid them in finding out what happened to their son.
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“We’re just trying to get some answers,” said Leetona Dungay, whose son David Dungay Hill died on December 29, 2015 at Sydney’s Long Bay gaol.
It was reported at the time that he had died while receiving medical treatment in the prison’s hospital, but the Dungay family have previously rejected suggestions that David died from natural causes.
According to Leetona, the rally on Saturday, August 20, was an attempt at raising awareness about all deaths in custody.
“We’re doing it for all the people in Australia that have experienced something like this,” she said.
“I’m doing it for the parents who have felt the pain that I feel.”
Emotions ran high at the event, with police originally attempting to keep the march on the footpath, before the crowd spilled onto the Elbow St roadway on their way to Riverside Park.
A number of family members spoke at the gathering, with Leetona asking, “How many of them need to die?"
“This is 2016, not 1816.”
Poems written by David in prison were also read out by his younger sister.
Leetona said she still remembers the last time she talked to her son.
“It was about 8.30 in the morning on the day he died, he rung me,” she said.
“He was the most happy-go-lucky person you could imagine.”
Leetona said she hopes that raising the profile of the case will help them get answers to their questions about the death of David, who she said had been diagnosed with diabetes at a young age.
“We just want an honest, true report about what happened to David,” Leetona said.
Duncan Fine, one of the lawyers from the National Justice Project in Sydney, the solicitors for Leetona, said, “At this stage we are still waiting for a full and final autopsy report to tell us exactly the cause of David’s death.
“But we do know he was being restrained at the time of his death by up to six guards.
“A full brief has yet to be filed with the Coroner, but all of us are working hard to make sure nothing gets swept under the carpet, to discover the truth and to hold anyone responsible for his death accountable."
The rally comes about a month after Aboriginal woman Rebecca Maher was found dead in a cell at Maitland Police Station at 6am on July 19.
Hers was the first Aboriginal death in NSW police custody since 2000.
