By Natalie Akoorie of RNZ Warning: This story deals with suicide and may be upsetting. The mother of a mentally unwell man who took his own life while under compulsory care believes failures in the health system will not improve, despite strong criticism by a coroner. Joe Carter had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a windowless room in the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital when he went out for a walk and never came back on August 25, 2019.
The method of suicide cannot be reported. The next day, Jenny Redwood collected her son’s meagre belongings, which were stuffed into a black rubbish bag..
