It was a dramatic start to the long-awaited inquest into the death of a man who was killed after a car driven by his former partner struck him in a town south of Hobart in 2020.
Jari Wise, 26, died when a car driven by Melissa Oates hit him at 1:10am on Wilmot road near Huonville on February 29, 2020.
Both Mr Wise and Ms Oates were subject to family violence orders at the time of his death.
What is not in dispute is that she was driving between 110 and 120 kilometres per hour in a 50kph zone, at three times the blood-alcohol limit. She also told police she was not wearing her glasses — required as a condition of her driver's licence.
Ms Oates spent eight months in prison for dangerous driving, drink driving and failing to stop and assist in an accident.
She was never charged with manslaughter or found to be legally responsible for Mr Wise's death, with evidence at the trial hearing Mr Wise had jumped in front of the car.
The Supreme Court trial heard that on the night Mr Wise died both he and Ms Oates had been drinking at a friend's place and had argued, with Mr Wise leaving to walk home.
Mr Wise's mother Faith Tkalac launched a public campaign for an inquest, which a Supreme Court judge ruled was unnecessary — before former attorney-general Elise Archer intervened and overruled the decision in May 2023.
The suggestion that Mr Wise put himself in the way of the car is central to his mother pushing for an inquest.
At the time, Ms Archer said she had "not made this decision lightly, but it is my sincere belief that this will assist Mr Wise's loved ones to find the answers that they seek".
Arrest warrant for witness who failed to appear
Family and friends held signs with the words "Justice 4 Jari" and "the public demands the truth" outside the Hobart Magistrate Court, where the inquest got underway on Tuesday.
A friend who saw Ms Oates and Mr Wise on the night of his death, Jessica Hosking, was due to give evidence but failed to appear when called.
Sergeant John Delpero told coroner Simon Cooper Ms Hosking had phoned to say she wasn't fit to give evidence and referred to a medical certificate to explain her absence.
Coroner Cooper said the certificate was five months old and did not apply, issuing a warrant for her arrest.
Later that day, he told the court that Ms Hosking had been taken into custody but police were concerned for her welfare, which meant he wouldn't compel her to give evidence.
She was released without charge.
But lawyer Fabiano Cangelosi, who is representing Faith Tkalac, urged the coroner to reconsider, saying "there is nothing in the medical certificate that suggests she can't give evidence".
He added that she could give evidence via video link with a support person.
The cousin of Ms Oates, Amber Lovell, was then called to give evidence via video link from the Hobart Police station — but just minutes into her evidence she said "I feel sick".
She refused to answer questions when she was being cross-examined and when counsel assisting the coroner Emily Bill asked what she remembered in the hours leading up to Mr Wise's death, she replied "I can't do this, I'm f****** sick of it".
"I would rather be locked up than have to deal with this s***," she said.
Coroner Cooper then told her "you will conduct yourself appropriately and mind your language, the quicker you do it, the quicker this will be over."
Ms Bill asked her whether Melissa Oates had told her she thought something had hit the car or thought Mr Wise had thrown something at the car, which she replied "yes".
But said Ms Oates had never intended to hit Mr Wise.
After several warnings about profanities and refusing to answer questions, Coroner Cooper asked a police officer to bring Ms Lovell to the court, which prompted her to storm out before the video link was cut.
But minutes later she appeared in person and was asked about whether Ms Oates or her friends told her to talk about Mr Wise jumping out in front of cars when she gave her statement to police after his death, which she denied.
Mr Cangelosi then asked her whether she was attempting to protect Ms Oates, to which she replied "no, this has affected me too".
"I don't care about any of this, he's dead, he's not coming back," she said.
The inquest also heard from Oates's friend Katie Shead who told the inquest that a statement she gave to police in 2020 about Mr Wise jumping in front of a vehicle on a separate occasion and years before his death, was not true.
She said on that occasion, he had "jumped back" and part of the vehicle had "clipped his knee".
Ms Oates and the mother of Mr Wise are both expected to give evidence to the two-day inquest on Wednesday.
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