Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.
Confronting footage has been played at an inquest into the bizarre death of a woman who went into cardiac arrest after she had a hot coffee thrown at her in Melbourne.
A coroner will need to decide whether Lisa Murphy died as a result of the 2022 altercation at a Caulfield service station or whether it was just a tragic coincidence.
Today, the woman who threw the drink gave evidence at an inquest into Murphy’s death.
“She called me a white racist Jew … I felt angry because I’m Jewish,” Sarah Franklin said.
“I shouldn’t have but I wanted her to stop, so I took the lid off my coffee … and I threw it at her.”
The court heard Murphy lunged at Franklin inside the service station and bit her, at which point the 53-year-old punched Murphy and wrestled her to the ground.
“I was terrified, she was very strong,” said Franklin.
“I was lightly restraining her.”
But within minutes Murphy was unconscious. No one administered CPR until police arrived.
Officers told the court Murphy was using heavy drugs and had complex health needs.
She died in hospital days later.
A forensic pathologist explained it was possible the scuffle could have brought on the cardiac arrest.
Franklin was sentenced to four months’ jail but was allowed to walk free after she successfully appealed.
The coroner said while it was possible the altercation contributed to Murphy’s death, the evidence points to multiple factors.
She will hand down her formal judgment later this year.
