Harrowing CCTV captured the final moments of a young Australian man who was found dead floating in a Bali pool, shedding new light on the holiday mystery.
News.com.au first revealed this year that 23-year-old Byron Haddow died at a luxury villa in May, with an Indonesian death certificate listing it as a drowning.
The Noosa mining worker, who worked as a loader operator in the NT, was found floating unconscious in a shallow pool while on a 12-day trip in May.
Shockingly, local police claimed they were not notified of his death for four days – and by the time investigators arrived at the scene, it had been contaminated.
Byron’s devastated family were also faced with the horrific news that his body had been repatriated to Australia without his heart, after it was removed during an autopsy.
On Sunday night’s 60 Minutes, it was revealed CCTV and audio recorded at the villa captured his last hours spent partying with three Australians – one man and two women.
At 7.17am on May 26, Byron and one woman emerged into view of the cameras.
He was last seen alive in the footage at 7.25am that morning.
Two hours later, a loud splash could be heard at 9.26am before screams of panic rang out from those who discovered Byron dead. The group had been partying for seven hours.
“F***,” one can he heard saying.
“Oh my god, oh my god.
“F***! Oh my god.
“Triple-0! Call triple-0!”
Byron had gone to Bali with an acquaintance and they met the two women at a local tattoo parlour.
Present during the meeting was tattoo artist Ketut Selat, who told 60 Minutes he received a call from Byron’s distressed friend the next morning.
“He said, uh, ‘Byron died. Byron died. ‘He’s drowned in the water’,” he claimed.
“And then I said, ‘Go to the medical, and then they will help you’.”
Footage captured Byron’s acquaintance running around in an attempt to seek help.
The audio from CCTV cameras appeared to capture the two girls speaking about what to do, and suggested one of them was supporting Byron’s body in the water.
One can be heard to say: “I’m not just going to f***ing leave him here.”
Another later appeared to be heard saying in the audio: “He’s not our f***ing friend.”
“One of the girls genuinely seemed to want to help him,” Byron’s mum Chantal Haddow said. “She was kind of, you know, yelling at the others to go get help, ring an ambulance.”
On the 60 Minutes program Ms Haddow confided that her son had second thoughts about travelling to Bali after his best mate pulled out of the trip.
He ended up going with the acquaintance, who was one of the three Australians present on the morning he died. None of them are accused of wrongdoing.
“He had said to me, a few weeks earlier, ‘I don’t really want to go now Mum’,” Ms Haddow said.
“He asked Tyson, our younger son. ‘Ah, come over, I’ll shout you a plane ticket.’
“So he clearly was having second thoughts about going.”
News.com.au previously obtained video taken on Byron’s phone just hours before he died, showing him partying with the three Australians.
The three Australians left Indonesia without reporting the death to the police, creating a critical gap in the investigation.
There is no suggestion that the trio was in any way responsible for Mr Haddow’s death.
It was revealed on 60 Minutes that there was a toxic combination of cocaine and MDMA in Byron’s system when he died.
Head of the Bali criminal investigation unit, Pak Degi Rajuandi said investigators believed drugs and alcohol could have contributed to Byron drowning.
“The hospital suspected that due to the alcohol and also, um, some substances that was found on late Mr. Byron’s body, um, it caused him (to pass) out in the swimming pool,” he said.
“That’s why he drowned.”
Detective Rajuandi said Indonesia’s notoriously tough drug laws might have prevented those who were with Byron that night to contact police.
“It is unfortunate that perhaps the main reason they didn’t report it immediately is because they were afraid of the illegal substances that were used there,” he said.
Byron’s family had previously spoken to news.com.au about their suspicions he might have met with foul play.
They said he was a strong swimmer and 178cm tall, whereas the pool he was found in was only 150cm deep.
Adding to concerns, numerous cuts and bruises were found on his body, and there was blood found on the towels used to wrap his body.
It appears they now want the people who were there when he died to come forward so they can get some closure on the tragedy.
“Just speak up,” Ms Haddow said. “Tell the truth. Imagine if it was your child.”
Her husband, Byron’s stepfather, Robbie Haddow’s message to the witnesses was they did not have to feel afraid and urged them to “pick the phone up”.
“You’re back home in Australia now,” he said.
“One of you three pick the phone up. We want to … grieve.
We need to rebuild our life. We can’t do that until we get answers.”
News.com.au previously revealed Byron’s heart was removed during a forensic autopsy at a public hospital in Bali – a procedure known as “organ retention” that was carried out in compliance with Indonesian medical practices and law.
However, Byron’s parents in Australia weren’t told and only discovered that his heart was missing after a second autopsy was carried out by the Queensland Coroner’s Court. Adding insult to injury, the Haddows had to fork out an additional $700 to have their son’s heart returned home.
Asked if he had a message for young people travelling overseas, Mr Haddow said “just travel with close mates, family, stay as a group”.
“And avoid taking drugs.”
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