A Mother's 16-Year Quest for Answers in Melbourne Rubbish Chute Death
Sixteen years after Phoebe Handsjuk fell to her death down a rubbish chute at a Melbourne apartment tower, her mother, Natalie Handsjuk, continues to challenge the official account of what happened. In a recent interview with news.com.au, she recalled the painful moments at the morgue and the unresolved questions that still haunt the family.
What happened to Phoebe Handsjuk?
On December 2, 2010, 24-year-old Phoebe Handsjuk plunged 40 metres down a rubbish chute at the Balencea apartment building in Melbourne. Her body was discovered around 7.20pm. The blade of a garbage compactor had almost severed her right foot, and she bled to death in the refuse room, unable to call for help.
Coroner Peter White ruled out foul play and suicide, concluding that Phoebe was in a confused, drug-induced sleepwalking state after taking the sleeping pill Stilnox and having a blood alcohol reading of 0.16. He found she died from blood loss and injuries sustained while attempting to climb from a height, in the setting of alcohol and zolpidem consumption.
Why is the mother still questioning the official findings?
Natalie Handsjuk has long disputed the investigation's thoroughness. She points to several holes in the official story: blood in the apartment was not DNA tested, an ambulance officer was not allowed to touch Phoebe's body to determine time of death, police initially assumed suicide, and her daughter's Nokia phone was never found. Independent investigators later found that getting into the chute would have been extremely difficult for sober women of Phoebe's size.
“Delusional or not, I don't think she was capable of that feat. When you're completely drunk and sedated, it's impossible,” Ms Handsjuk told news.com.au.
What happened at the morgue that morning?
The morning after the tragedy, Phoebe's parents were called to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to identify her body. Ms Handsjuk described the experience as rushed and cold. “We were standing there in disbelief looking at our dead daughter and were hurried along,” she said. They were told an autopsy had already been booked by the senior next of kin, Phoebe's then-partner Antony Hampel, who was 43 at the time.
“It was horrific. I'll never be able to erase it,” she said. “It felt like they wanted to get it over and done with and get us out of the way.”
Who was Antony Hampel?
Hampel, who was fully cleared by Coroner White after denying any involvement in Phoebe's death, was considered the senior next of kin because the pair were in a de facto relationship. He was at work when the incident occurred and only learned of the tragedy later that evening. In a recorded conversation after Phoebe's death, he told Ms Handsjuk: “The hardest thing is that she didn't want to die, she really didn't. It was just that monster was the alcohol, you know.”
How does Phoebe's mother remember her daughter?
Ms Handsjuk, who now lives in Mallacoota, describes Phoebe as “sensitive, playful, creative.” She marks her daughter's birthdays each May with a message. On what would have been Phoebe's 37th birthday, she wrote: “We would be celebrating you today, like we always did. You would have had a decorated chair at the head of the table, your favourite dinner and a cake.”
This week, she told news.com.au she imagines Phoebe “partnered up and with children.” “I like to think she would've found her way. She got wobbly, she succumbed to substance abuse at times when life is hard. It's difficult to be a human, I think,” she said.
The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine has been contacted for comment. The case remains a painful reminder of the fragility of life and the lasting impact of unanswered questions on a grieving family.