By JONATHON HOWARD
THE body of Edward Wayne Logan, who was shot dead by police in Tewantin last month, will be sent home to his birthplace in New Zealand for a traditional Maori burial following a Supreme Court ruling.
Edward was shot dead by police in dramatic circumstances after he had gone into a rage at Outlook Drive in Tewantin on Sunday 23 November.
The Coroner’s findings will not be revealed until next year. The court ruling is outside normal practice following a death in which the body is normally granted to the spouse. However, Judge Alan Wilson instead appointed Edward’s brother, Donald Logan, as the administrator.
The ruling will allow Donald and his family to transport the body to Otaki in New Zealand where the chairman of the Ngati Raukawa tribe is waiting alongside hundreds of tribe’s people to receive him.
Donald’s wife, Jody, contested the rights to the body after Edward’s spouse had originally wanted it transported to Melbourne.
“We went to court and won,“ Jody told media sources.
“We’ve got closure now and we’ve got the result we wanted and we’re taking him home.”
The director of Caxton Legal Service Scott McDougall a not-for-profit legal firm, who represented the Logan family, said the decision was not only a pleasing outcome for the family, but also for other Indigenous communities.
