Red flags were not acted upon before man tried to kill his Irish ex, coroner says

Ralph Donald, 35, took his own life in the front yard of his Darwin northern suburbs home, on October 3, 2023, after shooting Eileen Gibbons, who was left seriously wounded.

Ms Gibbons, from Mayo, had been visiting her former partner's house to retrieve items for their 11-month-old daughter.

Following an inquest last August, the Northern Territory coroner has now handed down ten recommendations in her findings into an attempted murder-suicide, which she says "demonstrates how seriously we should take coercive control".

In her report, published by the coroner's office, Judge Elisabeth Armitage said Ralph Donald was "a much-loved son, brother and father... He was also a hard worker and a caring friend".

She said. "In 2019, he met Irish nurse Eileen Gibbons, and they started a relationship. On October 24, 2022, they had a daughter together, who they both loved very much. After their daughter was born, the relationship between Eileen and Ralph deteriorated."

She said that together, they sought relationship counseling, and Donald sought help for a long-standing alcohol problem.

After a separation, on several occasions, Ms Gibbons also sought help from police, mainly because Donald would not give her back items of property that she needed for their baby.

Ralph Donald.

"Ralph was not physically violent towards Eileen, and, perhaps because of this, the police officers she spoke with did not recognize the seriousness of his escalating behavior," said the judge.

"They did not recognize it as coercive control. No one, neither police nor the people around Ralph (including Eileen) recognized the increasing red flags in his behavior.

"Not enough was done to support Ralph or to protect Eileen, and on October 3, 2023, he shot Eileen, before turning the gun on himself. Eileen survived, but he did not. He was 35 years old."

Judge Armitage said people might assume Donald was "just a monster", but she said that was not how he was described by those closest to him, including Ms Gibbons and his family, who said he was generous, loyal and helpful.

"Although he had his struggles, they did not think that he was beyond help. As for Ralph's heinous act, no one saw it coming," she said.

"He had never been charged with an offence of violence, had never been subject to a Domestic Violence Order and had never previously used any physical violence toward Eileen, until the day he tried to kill her."

Eileen Gibbons and her daughter, Silvia.

She continued: "The purpose of this inquest was not to apportion blame, but rather it was to try to better understand why Ralph tried to kill Eileen, the mother of his young child, and then killed himself. What went wrong? What could have been done to prevent Ralph's death? What can be done to prevent any more deaths like Ralph's?"

She said that prior to the incident, police had received seven reports about the relationship between Donald and Ms Gibbons, but no Domestic Violence Order (DVO) was made.

The coroner noted a firearms license would have been automatically suspended if an interim DVO was made against a gun owner. Judge Armitage said Donald's coercive behavior included verbal abuse, withholding their daughter's pram and passport, as well as throwing Ms Gibbons's phone away and locking her inside his home.

Judge Armitage said NT police conceded during the inquest that his behavior should have been categorized as domestic violence.

"The tragic outcome of [Ms Gibbons's] experience demonstrates how seriously we should take coercive control. It is as serious as physical violence and is a known pathway to domestic homicide," she said.

The judge noted that since Donald's death in 2023, police training has been improved regarding coercive control, and when to initiate a DVO.

Judge Armitage also noted the Northern Territory's Domestic and Family Violence Act had since been amended to include a definition of coercive control.

She found there was a lack of adequate services for men who were violent or at risk of using violence, as well as for their partners when seeking help.

"Had Ralph and Eileen both been able to access appropriate support, it is possible that Ralph's death could have been prevented," she said. "The tragedy of Ralph's story - his brutal attack on Eileen and his suicide - highlights the need to support people who are at risk of using violence in their intimate relationships, and of effective intervention before the risk is realized and more lives are lost."

She made ten recommendations in her report into Donald's death, applying to several government departments. Among them, she recommended the Northern Territory government change the law to give police discretion to seize firearms when officers were lawfully in a dwelling to investigate a domestic violence complaint.

She recommended the NT government establish a Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Team and increase funding for domestic and family violence counselors.

A GoFundMe for Eileen Gibbons and her daughter, Silvia, has already raised over €103k.

* This article was published on Evoke.ie.