Members of the Booth family gather at Pine Island Reserve. From left, Rayleen Booth, Stancy Booth, Wilma Dalton, Deanne Booth and Coral King. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: Readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of a First Nations person who has died. His photo is used with his family’s consent.
Police announced they will not reinvestigate the mysterious death of a First Nations man, months after the coroner said he couldn’t determine how or why the man ended up at a remote stretch of the Murrumbidgee River.
The decision has deeply affected Nathan Daniel Booth’s family, who still believe he was murdered.
On Thursday (11 September), Mr Booth’s sister, Deanne Booth, told Region his family felt police didn’t take her brother’s disappearance seriously or investigate properly at the start.
“And we still feel that way today,” she said.
“The whole reason we went to court is because we thought they didn’t do their job properly.”
Earlier this year, Coroner Ken Archer found 39-year-old Mr Booth died of hypothermia on the Murrumbidgee River, but was unable to make findings as to the manner of his death.
He was last seen alive on 27 June 2019. Then, on 1 December 2019, two boys trekking along the river, between Pine Island Reserve and Red Rocks Gorge, found his body in the water.
His leg was seriously injured and wedged between rocks. Coroner Archer thought it was most likely that he walked to the part of the river where he was found before his leg became trapped between the rocks and he died of hypothermia.
But the coroner also said it was unknown why Mr Booth was at the remote location or how he got there.
When closing the inquest, he said police would review the matter.
Family and supporters of Nathan Booth hold a banner showing a photo of him outside the ACT Courts. Photo: Albert McKnight.
But in late August, ACT Policing sent a letter to Mr Booth’s family to say they had considered the coroner’s findings and the totality of the evidence, but determined not to reinvestigate his death.
“Collectively, the evidence tendered to the inquest is compelling and excludes any notion of foul play,” police said in the letter.
“As a result of our exhaustive investigation, we do not believe Nathan’s death to be suspicious.
“There are no further avenues for investigative inquiry.”
Police said two reviews of the investigation were undertaken before the brief had been submitted to the coroner.
Ms Booth said her family was hoping police would reopen the investigation.
“Everyone in this community still believes that Nathan was murdered,” she said.
“No one has ever come to us and said anything different from what they told us five years ago.”
She said everyone in her family was upset after they received the letter.
“The letter was just disrespectful,” she said.
“All the family was raging, going ‘What the hell did we do this process for?'”
In Coroner Archer’s decision, he said Mr Booth’s family had been forced to listen to rumours about the circumstances of his death for years.
The common theme of these rumours was that he had been killed by unnamed people he had wronged in some way.
“ACT Policing acknowledges the trauma the family of Nathan Booth have endured since he disappeared and was subsequently located deceased in 2019,” an ACT Policing spokesperson said when contacted for comment about the letter.
“Executive members have offered to meet with Nathan’s family members to answer any questions they may have following the finalisation of the coronial and police investigative processes.”
Ms Booth said her family was planning to meet with police next week.
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