A coroner has determined that a Melbourne doctor who attempted to hack open his wife’s airway with a kitchen knife and then delayed calling an ambulance for more than three hours may have engaged in negligent manslaughter.
Mayumi Spencer, 29, passed away in a Docklands flat in January 2015 after overdosing on cocaine, according to the findings of Victorian Coroner John Cain.
The coroner detailed the couple’s history of domestic violence, including one previous incident in which Mrs. Spencer’s husband, respiratory and sleep physician Peter Spencer, is said to have given her a cocaine injection against her will.
If emergency services had been summoned sooner, the coroner said he could not say whether Mrs. Spencer may have survived.
The findings were released today following Mrs. Spencer’s husband’s unsuccessful bid to have them withheld, which was successfully contested by media outlets like the ABC, The Age, and Channel Nine.
The couple had gone out to supper with friends the night before Mrs. Spencer died, and they had returned home at one in the morning, according to the coroner’s findings.
Dr. Spencer explained in a statement given to the coroner that at around 4 am, Mrs. Spencer had a fit and started vomiting. He tried to revive her and thought she was choking.
He claimed to have attempted but failed to perform a cricothyroidotomy, an urgent medical treatment that necessitates a neck incision that is utilised when the airway is closed and poses a threat to life.
According to the coroner’s report, Mr. Spencer did not alert emergency personnel that Mrs. Spencer was not breathing until 7:38 a.m.
No valid reason to delay calling an ambulance, according to medical professionals
According to the coroner’s findings, Dr. Spencer was attempting CPR when paramedics arrived less than 10 minutes later.
He applied “pretty gentle” compressions, according to the paramedics, and Mrs. Spencer’s body temperature indicated that she had likely been dead for some time.
A forensic pathologist’s report to the coroner revealed that Mrs Spencer had marks on the inside of her arm that were consistent with injections, high levels of cocaine and blood-stained towels in her Docklands flat.
The coroner received proof that Dr. Spencer had needle track marks on his inner elbows from a forensic doctor who visited with him at a police station the morning of his wife’s death.
According to a medical expert who testified before the investigation, given Dr. Spencer’s experience, it might have been fair for him to try to open Mrs. Spencer’s airway before dialling 911, but that should have only added a few minutes to the wait time.
Following Mrs. Spencer’s passing, a criminal inquiry was started; however, no one has ever been charged.
The coroner reported his findings to the Department of Prosecutions after expressing his belief that an indictable offence may have been committed.
According to Mr. Cain, the indictable charge is negligent manslaughter since Dr. Spencer had a duty of care to Mrs. Spencer when he discovered her and because there were delays in getting immediate medical help.
Couple first met over ten years before Mrs. Spencer’s passing in Japan.
Mayumi Spencer, a Japanese-born woman, met her future husband in 2006 while he was on a trip to that country, according to the coroner’s findings.
In 2010, Mrs. Spencer made the trip to Australia to move in with him. The following year, the couple was married.
The coroner discovered a history of domestic abuse between the pair, including an effort by Mrs. Spencer to travel back to Japan in 2012 and the issuance of a family violence order against her husband the following year.
She admitted to being terrified of her spouse at the time because of his violent behaviour towards her to the Japanese consulate.
The coroner received statements from the Spencers’ friends and family, the Japanese consulate, and records from a family violence service provider that detail a number of allegations of domestic violence. These allegations, which include the time Dr. Spencer allegedly injected Mrs. Spencer with cocaine against her will, were summarised in the coroner’s report.
He was accused of physical abuse, calling her a “whore” and a “piece of shit,” threatening to kill both of them, keeping an eye on her social media accounts and email, and only letting her meet with friends when he was around, according to the coroner’s report.
Dr. Spencer told authorities after his wife passed away that while they had “fought a lot” in the beginning of their relationship, things had recently been “really good.” He also provided testimonies from acquaintances who had seen the couple happy in the 18 months before Mrs. Spencer’s death.
As a medical doctor, respiratory specialist, and sleep expert, Dr Peter Spencer is still registered with Australian health regulators. However, his registration is subject to a number of restrictions, including the requirement that he only practise under supervision.
The Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) was notified of the coroner’s findings but declined to comment because it regulates individual health practitioners.
