Jessica Huggard cherishes a photo taken with her younger brother Luke in 2015 at the Melbourne airport because it would be the last time the brothers would see each other.
Two years later, Mr. Huggard, then 32, is he is believed to have taken his own life at a notorious suicide spot in Sydney’s eastern suburbs called The Gap in April 2017.
His body has never been found and there has been no investigation into his death, so he has not been declared legally dead and his family cannot properly send him off with a funeral.
Nearly six years after his death, his sister has started a petition to obtain an inquest date from the NSW Coroner’s Court and a death certificate.
“He deserves better than this,” said Ms. Huggard.
Luke Huggard (left) and his sister Jessica at Melbourne airport in 2015 before flying to Sydney. she never saw him again
‘My brother came in and lit up a room. He could talk to anyone. He was full of life and full of laughter.
a beloved brother
Luke Huggard grew up in Melbourne where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and then studied journalism as a postgraduate.
It was incredible. My brother was a really charismatic man, six feet (183 cm), very gay and he grew up in a world that didn’t accept that,” said his sister Jessica.
In 2015, he moved to Sydney to study law, finding a home in the city’s gay scene.
Luke Huggard is portrayed as a young man.
But Huggard, who had long battled mental illness, began using drugs.
At the time of her disappearance, her sister said that she had been clean for a while, but was taking prescription drugs.
She believes she was in a withdrawal-induced psychosis when she took her own life.
‘Two weeks before he died, he had a job, he had bought animals again, he had his own apartment. It was working, clean and happy,” said Ms Huggard.
“He had this laugh…it was very strong and it was a big laugh,” he said. 7News.
Three days before he was last seen alive, the police arrested Mr. Huggard while attempting to kill himself at the same location.
He was later taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick and admitted to an acute mental health unit as an involuntary patient.
A NSW Health report obtained by the family said Mr Huggard was suicidal, experiencing delusions and withdrawing from drug use.
“He was experiencing anxiety and agitation felt in the context of amphetamine withdrawal,” the report said.
Mr. Huggard was seen by a psychiatrist on April 4 and, as he was no longer experiencing delusions or suicidal thoughts, he was released.
They referred him to see a GP, but he didn’t show up. Hospital staff were the last people to see him alive.
That night CCTV captured someone matching the description of Mr Huggard taking his own life in The Gap.
A friend reported him missing the next day.
On April 17, almost two weeks after she went missing, the police contacted the hospital to inform them of her presumed death, even though they did not have the body.
Despite this, Mr Huggard still remains on the Australian Federal Police’s missing persons list six years later.
After a police investigation concluded that he was probably dead, his case was referred to the coroner. in 2018.
The family has heard very little since and wants he answers as to why he was released from the hospital on his own and why the family and they were not told when he entered the mental health unit.
“This is not about blaming anyone for her death, it’s about finding out what happened in the last two days,” Ms Huggard said.
He’s had enough of waiting.
You have everything in writing to say that he is dead. There is a huge amount of evidence there,” he said.
The family, whose trauma has been compounded by uncertainty and waiting, wants an inquest and a death certificate, so they can hold a funeral.
“It seems that we are being punished for something that is just a tragic situation,” Ms Huggard said.
All I ask is that a coroner take notice and stop telling me it’s going to be another six months.
If you need help in a crisis, call Life line on 13 11 14.
For more information on depression contact beyond the blue on 1300224636 or talk to your doctor, a health professional or a trusted friend.
Jessica Huggard (right) is shown with a protective arm around her brother Luke when they were children.
Luke Huggard’s body (pictured) has never been found and there has been no investigation, so he has not been declared legally dead and his family cannot properly send him off with a funeral.
