Byron Haddow was only twenty-three when he died during a holiday in Bali. He was found unconscious in a swimming pool at a private villa on May 26. His death was not reported to police until four days later.
It took almost a month before his body was sent back to Australia. When his parents, Robert and Chantal, arranged for a second autopsy in Queensland, they were shocked to learn that his heart was missing. This discovery came just two days before Byron’s funeral.
The family went through months of waiting, confusion, and silence from authorities. After the funeral was already held, they were told they would need to pay seven hundred dollars to have Byron’s heart returned. They finally received it months later. His parents described the entire experience as cruel, inhumane, and devastating beyond words.
The heart had been removed during an autopsy in Denpasar. The doctor who carried it out explained that she had two requests for examinations—one from the family and another from Bali officials for forensic reasons. She said that under Indonesian law, consent is not needed for forensic autopsies and that keeping organs is common practice worldwide to confirm causes of death.
She suggested that Byron may have drowned because of a mix of alcohol and an antidepressant that left him unable to get out of the pool. But scars and bruises on his body left more questions unanswered. His family doubts the drowning story since Byron was a strong swimmer and the pool was only one and a half meters deep while he stood one meter seventy-eight tall.
The case is still being looked at by the Coroners Court in Queensland. It has raised big questions about how deaths abroad are handled, especially about removing organs without telling families. Byron is remembered by those close to him as a son, a brother, and a friend who was taken far too soon.
