An 11-year-old boy who died from a snake bite was assumed to be ‘grog sick’ or concussed when he began slurring his words and vomiting.
Tristian Frahm died at a property in Murgon in Queensland’s South Burnett region, 150km inland from the Sunshine Coast, on November 21, 2021 – hours after he told his dad a snake had bitten him.
The timeline leading up to Tristan’s tragic death has been revealed during a pre-inquest hearing at Brisbane coroner’s court on Monday.
Tristian and his father, Kerrod Frahm, were at a remote property on November 20 for a birthday celebration, according to opening remarks seen by Daily Mail Australia.
Counsel assisting the Coroner Sarah Ford told the court the father-son duo spent the afternoon and night with Mr Frahm’s friends, Rachelle Dorman and Jacob Bryant, and two other young boys.
The trio of boys were riding a mower when Tristian is believed to have fallen off, saying he had been bitten by a snake.
Mr Frahm reportedly told police he thought Tristian was ‘a little dazed or concussed’, suggesting Tristian may have hit his head.
‘Mr Bryant recalls that Tristian was barely able to stand and was trying to “half talk” but was slurring his words,’ Ms Ford said.
Tristian Frahm, 11 (pictured), died at a remote property in Queensland’s South Burnett region in November 2021, hours after he told his dad he had been bitten by a snake
‘It’s clear that there was some talk of Tristian having been bitten by a snake,’ Ms Ford said, telling the court the adults reportedly checked Tristian for bite marks.
Possibly while Tristian was being checked for bites, the court heard that one boy told the adults that Tristian had drank some beers he had stolen from his dad’s esky.
They then reportedly assumed the 11-year-old was intoxicated, with Mr Frahm telling his son to ‘go and sleep it off’.
Between the accounts shared by Ms Ford with the coroner’s court, Tristian is believed to have vomited multiple times over the following hours and into the night.
The court heard that after one bout of vomiting, one of the other boys tried to wake Mr Frahm, who was asleep on a couch, but was unsuccessful.
‘Overnight, both [boys] observed Tristian to be in significant pain. In [one’s] words, Tristian was in “really big pain”,’ Ms Ford said.
One boy reportedly alerted Ms Dorman to the 11-year-old’s condition but ‘she thought Tristian was just hungover from the beers he had stolen’, the court heard.
Ms Dorman is believed to have seen Tristian sitting in the door of a donga, a form of temporary, demountable housing, at about 2am and he waved to her.
Tristian’s dad Kerrod Frahm reportedly told police that he thought Tristian may have hit his head, saying he was ‘a little dazed or concussed’ (the father-son duo are pictured)
‘In Ms Dorman’s opinion, Tristian appeared to be perfectly fine – just “grog sick”,’ Ms Ford told the court.
The counsel’s assistant said Mr Frahm discovered his son lying face down outside the donga about 7am the following morning.
‘Unable to rouse Tristian, Mr Frahm realised he had passed away,’ she said.
Mr Frahm is said to have phoned his mother who then called triple-zero at 8.56am.
His mother said Mr Frahm was ‘hysterical’, according to Ms Ford.
Tristian’s lifeless body was found lying outside the shed by emergency services with ‘five patches of vomit within 20metres of his body’, the court heard.
At the scene, emergency services observed two marks on Tristian’s right ankle. The autopsy found that this injury was consistent with a snake bite.
The court heard that forensic pathologist, Dr Christopher Day determined Tristian’s cause of death as being brown snake envenomation.
Tristian’s lifeless body was found outside the donga, a type of temporary housing, by emergency services with five patches of vomit close by, the court heard
At the inquest, listed for June 2 and 6, the court will hear from Associate Professor Katherine Isoardi regarding Tristian’s death.
Ms Ford said the expert will give evidence that, ‘had Tristian received immediate medical attention, it is likely that his death would have been prevented’.
On the coroner’s court website, the inquest is listed as aiming to promote awareness of ‘the signs and symptoms of snake envenomation’.
It will also highlight the first aid required for suspected snake bites and consider recommendations to prevent future deaths.
Prosecutors dropped a manslaughter charge against Kerrod Frahm in 2024 after police alleged he was negligent in his son’s death for not seeking medical help.
Mr Frahm was not present at the Coroner’s Court on Monday but Tristian’s mum and grandmother attended.
His death has devastated his family who say they will remember him as a ‘little hero’ and an ‘angel’.
‘I’m so beyond lost for words and the heart break is unimaginable. I’m still in disbelief,’ one relative posted at the time.’
