Tammy Shipley was recorded on CCTV drinking at least 67 cups of water in 12 hours before she died in custody of water intoxication, a coronial inquest has heard.
The 47-year-old mother of fivedied while being held on remand at Silverwater women’s correctional centre in New South Wales on 20 December 2022, after being arrested on minor shoplifting charges.
An inquest into her death began in September 2024 butwas adjourned after the police commissioner challenged the coroner’s jurisdiction to also examine the circumstances of Shipley’s arrest, which led to her detention.
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The supreme court of NSW ruled that the coroner’s jurisdiction did extend to the circumstances in which Shipley came to be – and remained – in custody while mentally unwell in the days leading up to her death. The inquest resumed under state coroner Teresa O’Sullivan on Monday.
Peggy Dwyer SC, the counsel assisting the coroner, said in her opening address to the week-long hearing that Shipley had a long history of mental health illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, substance abuse and suicide attempts.
The inquest had previously heard that NSW police did not tell either the NSW corrections department nor the custody management officers that Shipley suffered from a number of mental health conditions.
The coroner is now considering whether there are adequate mental health indicators in police and custodial management systems to assist in managing people with complex mental health issues, suggesting the system could be updated to notify police, similar to the system used to warn of a history of family violence.
Shipley said she did not suffer any mental health conditions – despite prior interactions with police which included being sectioned under the mental health act due to concerns that she was experiencing delusions about her neighbours.
She told police officers during her arrest that she was hearing voices in her head and they “wouldn’t stop talking in her mind”.
On the day of Shipley’s death, Dwyer said, she was recorded on CCTV drinking out of a red cup at least 67 times between 12:33am to 11:51am. She had also been seen drinking excessive amounts of water in two days prior.
“In between that time, Tammy seemed to be consuming water from the tap,” Dwyer told the court.
Dwyer said the cup could hold 300ml of water.
“So that means just on the 20th of December alone, Tammy is likely to have consumed at least 20 litres of water. And it’s not possible to calculate the amount of water she consumed leading up to that.”
The court heard that at 11:55am, Shipley collapsed on her bed and began vomiting and defecating. In CCTV footage from her cell, which had been previously shown to the court, she appeared to be “spasming,” Dwyer said.
Prison guards did not notice Shipley’s condition until 1.15pm, Dwyer said, despite officers walking past her cell at 12.27pm and again at 12.41pm. She told the court that their view into the cell from the corridor was obstructed by blinds.
“At 12:27pm, one officer … walked past cell five that Tammy was in, and the cell was not visible externally, but if someone had looked inside, they would have seen Tammy seizing on the bed,” Dwyer said.
It was not until a prison officer opened the hatch on the cell door and tried to speak to Shipley that the alarm was raised, Dwyer said. A prison psychiatrist attended the cell as part of a scheduled visit, she said, before two prison nurses saw Shipley at 1:35pm.
“Nurse Murphy and nurse McCarthy, attempted to engage with Tammy through the hatch that had been opened … and discovered that Tammy was non-responsive, Dwyer told the court.
“All attempts were made to try and revive Tammy and perform CPR, but tragically, it was too late.”
An autopsy found Shipley cause of death was hyponatraemia, caused by extremely low levels of sodium, due to polydipsia (experiencing unquenchable thirst) and complications of schizoaffective disorder.
The inquest is ongoing.
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