During that conversation, without spelling it out, he says, 'Well I was contemplating doing something stupid', and at this point he goes out and takes the hose out, puts it at the back of the car. They ask him obviously who he is etc, they check his identity and he has no criminal record, he's not a missing person. As they approach he puts the note, whatever he has written, into a briefcase.
And they see that actually the engine is not on, the window is fully wound down, and the driver is writing a note. and what they see as they approach is that there is a hose connected through the window to the back of the car.ĭanuta Mendelson: The exhaust pipe. Ronald Veenstra was facing fraud charges, and later that day was due to be served with a brief outlining the case against him.ĭanuta Mendelson: At about 5.40am on the 22 August 1999, nearly ten years ago, in the middle of winter, in a car which is parked at some remote beach on the Mornington Peninsula, two detectives, they're both senior detectives, are just patrolling the area, and they see this car. It all started about 10 years ago on a chilly winter's morning. For a number of years she's been fascinated by the case, which has wound its way up through the court system all the way to the High Court. Professor Danuta Mendelson holds a research chair at Deakin University Law School. The widow of Mr Ronald Hendrik Veenstra believed the police should have apprehended her husband, so she commenced a civil action claiming that they had breached their duty of care. If someone who is not mentally ill is clearly contemplating suicide, should authorities intervene? Damien Carrick: Last week the High Court handed down a decision dealing with suicide.