Britt Lapthorne: Croatian police investigation was a debacle, says father
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Version 0 of 1. The father of a Victorian backpacker who was last seen alive at a nightclub in Croatia in 2008 has hit out at a coroner’s finding that the local police left no stone unturned when investigating her death. After a brief hearing that formally closed the inquest into Britt Lapthorne’s death in the Victorian coroner’s court on Thursday, her parents, Dale and Elke, said the end of the proceedings brought some closure. But they described the initial Croatian police investigation as a debacle. “We are thoroughly annoyed and furious by the comments that it was a thorough and professional investigation,” Dale Lapthorne told reporters outside the court. “It was a debacle for the first two weeks ... It’s laughable.” However, he conceded that without police support the family would have many more unanswered questions about her death. They were also pleased that the coroner found it was unlikely Britt had committed suicide. Her mother said she hoped her daughter’s killer was tortured by her death. Dale Lapthorne has retraced the last month of his daughter’s travels and said his daughter may have not died in vain after all. Many young backpackers were more careful when travelling overseas, he said. Another lasting legacy, he said, was a change to the way Croatian police dealt with similar matters. During the Victorian hearing, the coroner’s associate, Sergeant David Dimsey, said Britt Lapthorne was last seen drunk at the Latin Club Fuego in the coastal town of Dubrovnik where she was partying with other backpackers on 18 September, 2008. Her body was found nearby by fishermen in Boninovo Bay three weeks later and it was unlikely she had intentionally entered the water considering weather conditions on the night she went missing. Croatian police never solved the mystery of her disappearance and say their investigation is continuing. A final report by the state coroner, Ian Gray, will be handed down later this month. |