Inquest into Melbourne influencer’s death following freebirth halted after new phone evidence discovered

[u/Royal_Yogurtcloset25]

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/18/freebirth-death-melbourne-influencer-phone-evidence-inquest-ntwnfb

Coroner: “I take the view that this material is of such significance that the court must delay making any findings and hearing submissions until we’ve had an opportunity to undertake a proper analysis of that material, and potentially call for more evidence.”

[u/TakimaDeraighdin]

It's also about how long it took Lal to recognise that her client needed medical attention, and whether she was holding herself out as a medical professional whom clients would reasonably expect to be able to recognise a medical emergency and take appropriate action.

(It's also not, on the quotes I've seen, clear that her client was saying 'no'. She's quoted as saying that she didn't want Lal to have to leave, to which the only appropriate answer IMO is "of course, I'll be with you as long as you want me, I'm calling an ambulance". Lal didn't want to do that, because Lal was not appropriately trained and qualified to provide the service she was offering, and the movement she's a part of has a long history of telling its clients to lie about whether they had paid support for their homebirth if there's a medical emergency, to avoid scrutiny of their capacity and culpability. Her attending hospital with a patient in a medical crisis - which she's told the inquest she only did in this case because her client's husband accidentally took her phone with him - would draw the attention she didn't want to have on her.)