Hakea Prison death in custody: Family of Wayne Ugle waited hours for confirmation of his death

The family of a man who died in custody at Hakea Prison have detailed the agonising more than eight hours they were forced to wait for official confirmation of his death. Wayne Ugle, a 41-year-old Noongar man, died from what the Department of Justice described as a medical episode inside his cell at the maximum-security prison on November 6. The father of nine had been arrested and refused bail two days earlier. After questions in Parliament from shadow corrective services minister Peter Collier, the State Government revealed earlier this month Mr Ugle was pronounced dead at 11.03am and the department told police at 1.33pm. But it took until 7.30pm, some 8½ hours after Mr Ugle died, for his family to be informed. His wife Natasha said she had suspected something was wrong when he did not call her that morning and she began to hear rumours about an inmate who had died. Ms Ugle said she was eventually told via a call from a family member in custody in Acacia Prison that her husband had died — a couple of hours before police finally arrived at her home. “It is really disgusting that we had to wait that long. The unknown was just horrible,” she said. “I had his family ringing me from Sydney and asking me if it was true when I didn’t even know. There were so many people asking ‘Is it him, is it him, is it him?’ and I just said to Mum, ’It’s got to be him because he hasn’t called me’.” Ms Ugle said police eventually got in touch with her mother, who told them she was at her daughter and son-in-law’s home in Forrestfield. “It was the unknown that broke my whole family. We were crying and mourning over him, but we didn’t even know if it was him,” Ms Ugle said. According to the family, police explained the delay by saying they had an old address for Mr Ugle’s mother-in-law. But Ms Ugle questioned why police simply did not just come to the home she shared with her late husband. “I don’t know why they just didn’t come to mine and Wayne’s address to advise his family. On the court list, this house is put as his address,” she said. The Ugle family have called for a review of deaths in custody and an independent inquest into his death. They claim Mr Ugle was sweating profusely in court and was denied potentially lifesaving medication for his heart problem in the hours leading up to his death. Mr Collier said while he appreciated police were “extraordinarily busy”, the delay in telling the family was “inexcusable” and they deserved an explanation and an apology. “It is inconceivable that it would take police six hours to notify the family, particularly when multiple members of the community were at that stage contacting the family themselves,” he said. “Unless there’s some legitimate reason as to why they didn’t notify them, they deserve an apology at the very least.” Mr Ugle was the second death in custody in WA in just a few weeks, after the October 12 suicide of 16-year-old Unit 18 detainee Cleveland Dodd. “In Mr Ugle’s case, not only has the family had to deal with the grief of losing their loved one, but also the lack of certainty surrounding his death for six hours,” Mr Collier said. “I really think that the police need to be forthcoming and transparent with the Ugle family, and explain to them why it took six hours to notify them.” A WA Police spokesperson said they would not make any further comment on Mr Ugle’s death while it was before the Coroner. Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia has said the department will conduct an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.