A coronial investigation has been launched into the shock death of Manly Sea Eagles rising star Keith Titmuss.
An investigation is now under way to determine why the 20-year-old collapsed during a routine pre-season training session and later died in hospital on November 23, 2020. It could lead to a formal public inquest next year.
The family of former Manly NRL youngster Keith Titmuss is grieving his death; his mother Lafo and dad Paul.Credit:James Brickwood, NRL Photos
While a date has not been set for a potential inquest, it has been indicated to the family that the matter, should it proceed, would be heard in June or July next year given a cause of death was unable to be determined in the initial report.
A number of Titmuss’ teammates and friends – including Manly’s Josh Schuster and Jason Saab, Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu and Canterbury’s Matt Doorey – have been asked to cooperate with the investigation. Titmuss’ girlfriend has also been asked.
The NSW Coroners Court told the Herald: “This matter is still in the investigative stage. No hearing date has been set yet, and no subpoenas have been issued yet.”
A potential inquest is likely to examine the training methods of the Sea Eagles and the events that unfolded between Titmuss suffering a seizure at training in Narrabeen and later that day when he was pronounced dead at Royal North Shore Hospital.
Keith Titmuss and (inset, from top) Josh Schuster, Matt Doorey and Jason Saab.Credit:NRL Photos, Getty
Over the past month, detectives have been interviewing Sea Eagles players, medical staff and coaching staff.
“The Sea Eagles are assisting the coroner’s office with inquiries into the death of Keith Titmuss on 23 November, 2020,” Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov, who only started in the job last month, said.
“The Sea Eagles understand that the Coroner may hold an inquest into the matter but no dates have been set for this.”
The statements of cardiologists, sports scientists, emergency physicians and various medical experts have also been requested.
Keith’s dad Paul, sister Zara, mother Lafo, brother Jesse and nephew Hudson looking at family photo albums as they remember the life of their loved one.Credit:James Brickwood/Sydney Morning Herald
Titmuss’ family have also undergone a series of medical examinations to determine whether there is a genetic link associated with his death. It s understood the family has since been cleared of any genetic concerns.
The initial autopsy provided no insight into Titmuss’ cause of death, while the toxicology report also showed no sign of drug use. His brain has also been donated to the Sydney Brain Bank for further research.
Statements from club officials and Titmuss’ family will be provided in the coronial brief being prepared.
“Officers from Northern Beaches Police Area Command are preparing a report for the information of the Coroner regarding the death of a 20-year-old man on Monday, November 23, 2020,” NSW Police told the Herald.
The Manly Sea Eagles honoured Keith Titmuss by hosting a memorial service at their training ground in Narrabeen last year.Credit:Manly Sea Eagles Digital
For four months after Titmuss’ death, the family held the assumption the hospital turned off their son’s life support based on conversations with doctors that day.
“Why didn’t they give us the opportunity to say goodbye to him while he was still alive?” his grief-stricken mother Lafo Titmuss told the Herald last year.
“Who made the decision to turn the life support machine off without consulting or asking Paul [Keith’s father] and I? My understanding was he was still alive when we got there.”
Doctors worked for hours to try to resuscitate Titmuss but, despite attempting every possible intervention, could not get his blood to recirculate.
Gone but never forgotten. A tribute to Keith’s life is on display inside the family’s Austral home.Credit:James Brickwood
Royal North Shore Hospital’s director of medical services Philip Hoyle later contacted Keith’s parents to clarify the events that took place before their son died.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have told the Herald they believe Titmuss died before life support being applied, rather than dying because the machine was switched off. An ECMO machine had replaced the function of his heart and lungs.
Roger Harris, a senior intensive care doctor at RNSH, who could not speak specifically about the case and was not involved in the care of Titmuss, last year said under such devastating circumstances there is no decision to be made.
“Depending on who you get your strength from, it’s nature or God who makes those decisions in that setting,” said Harris who was treating another critical patient the day Keith died.
“In critical cases, 25-odd staff can be working to resuscitate a patient surrounded by an enormous amount of equipment. A machine can be pumping the patient’s chest and ECMO [life support machine] uses tubes bigger than a garden hose into the groin to take blood to a bypass machine. In that incredibly confronting setting there is often no moment of stability to stop and let the family come in.”
After Titmuss collapsed, paramedics rushed him to Northern Beaches Hospital, with former Manly player Matt Ballin in the ambulance relaying information back to the family.
Ballin later called the family, who were three kilometres away from the hospital at the time, to notify them that Keith was being urgently transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital.
The family are also seeking answers as to why paramedics initially took Titmuss to Northern Beaches Hospital before being redirected to a major hospital (RNSH) with the required equipment.
The family is awaiting a date to meet with the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office.
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