Nearly five years after the death of a respected Darwin nurse was initially treated as an overdose, her long-term partner has been extradited and charged with her murder.
Peter Scammell, 44, was extradited from Victoria to the Northern Territory last week to face a murder charge over the death of Katrina Sheridan Hawker on September 12, 2020.
A Life Cut Short and a 'Suspicious' Death
Katrina Hawker, 43, was a dedicated registered nurse working in the acute medical ward at Royal Darwin Hospital. She was found unresponsive in the backyard of the Bakewell home she shared with Scammell.
An initial assessment pointed to an overdose, but a coronial inquest delivered in June last year concluded her death was "suspicious". The coroner found she died from acute drug toxicity caused by a lethal mix of alcohol and the prescription sleeping pill Temazepam.
Critically, the coroner determined it was highly unlikely the trained senior nurse had taken the drugs accidentally or as an act of self-harm. This finding was backed by her sister, Danielle, who told the inquest Hawker would "never" have taken her own life.
The inquest heard compelling evidence of a life in full swing, not one nearing its end. In the days before she died, Hawker had purchased a new car, booked annual leave, scheduled a work assistance appointment, and made lunch plans with a colleague. On her final day, she bought ingredients for a chicken recipe and left the cookbook open on the table. No suicide note was found.
Described by those who knew her as "upstanding", "rules based" and deeply dedicated to her patients, Hawker had also confided in her sister that she was saving money to leave Scammell due to his "excessive drinking".
A 'Toxic' Relationship and Chilling Evidence
While their social media portrayed a happy couple of almost two decades, neighbours told a different story. They described hearing arguments "frequently, if not daily" and labelled the relationship as "very toxic".
Text messages shown to the inquest revealed Scammell regularly referred to Hawker using derogatory names like "the Kraken", "Mrs Insanity", and "a c***". He also made disturbing jokes about killing her. In one message he asked, "should I smother her with a pillow?"
The inquest uncovered critical forensic evidence. Hawker had ingested at least four to five Temazepam tablets, which had been prescribed to Scammell five months earlier. His fingerprints were found on the inside flap of the Temazepam box, the blister packet, and on a bottle of vodka. No fingerprints belonging to Hawker were found on any bottle or drinking vessel.
On the day she died, a neighbour heard the couple arguing in the morning. After a trip to a tavern, bottle shop, and Bunnings—where another argument erupted—Scammell, who had been drinking heavily, called a friend. Between 12:59pm and 1:08pm, the friend recalled him saying, "I'm tired of her", "I'm sick of her" and "I'm going to kill her."
Scammell later texted the friend at 1:14pm, writing, "Vodka talking, don't get lost in the mangroves."
The last confirmed moment Hawker was alive was at 3:55pm, when she took a video of Scammell in the pool. By 4:33pm, photos on Scammell's phone showed her lying motionless on a towel in the backyard.
Despite having first-aid training, Scammell did not attempt CPR or call emergency services. A neighbour eventually rang triple-0 at 6:33pm after Scammell appeared at his door saying, "I think Kat's dead", and describing her as "purple". Paramedics were unable to revive her, and she was declared dead at 7pm.
Inconsistent Accounts and a Case Referred to Prosecutors
Scammell gave police inconsistent accounts of how he found Hawker, and his explanations about the Temazepam pills shifted repeatedly. During the inquest, when pressed on whether he may have caused Hawker to ingest the tablets, Scammell repeatedly said he could not remember the day's events.
When asked if it was possible he caused her to ingest the tablets, he replied, "I can't 100 per cent say that it didn't happen or it did happen. I'm just saying I can't remember what happened." The coroner then asked, "So it might have happened?" to which Scammell refused to answer directly.
This exchange, along with the totality of evidence, led the coroner to refer the case to NT Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The inquest also heard that within days of Hawker's death, Scammell began a new relationship, becoming "physically intimate" with an old acquaintance just eight days later. In the weeks after Hawker's funeral, he allegedly told several friends he was "directly responsible" for her death, with one recalling him saying, "She wouldn't have taken them by themselves... I would have had to put them in her drink."
Scammell faced Darwin Local Court last Thursday and was granted bail under strict conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device, surrendering his passport, and reporting to police weekly. His lawyer, Richard Bryson, said Scammell was traumatised by the death and had been unable to work since.
Peter Scammell is scheduled to return to court on February 4.
