The remains of a 40-year-old Australian woman have been in a cold storage facility for around four years due to a disagreement between her family and her partner.
The body of Debbie-Lee Gill has been kept at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle since January 2021. This hospital usually keeps bodies for a maximum period of 21 days, except in unusual circumstances.
The woman is believed to have died by suicide and her biological family wanted her body to be cremated. Her alleged partner, Leslie Speeding, claimed that the woman's intention was to be buried with a traditional funeral.
These disagreements culminated in the victim's family taking the case to court, and last week the judge considered that the body had been waiting too long for a dignified end.
The court ended up ruling in favor of the woman's family, considering that the man did not have the financial means to pay for Debbie's funeral alone.
The judge considered that the body had been "waiting too long" which only resulted in "boiling personal animosity".
