A woman found with mysterious and fatal head injuries may have indicated who assaulted her before she died, an inquest into her death has been told.
Elizabeth Britton, 44, was found in her Pottsville home, in northern NSW, on October 10, 2020, with blunt force head injuries.
The injuries initially left her conscious but with limited faculties including being unable to speak. Despite efforts to reduce pressure on her brain she died in hospital several weeks later.
The inquest beginning in Lismore on Monday will probe the potential involvement in her death of two persons of interest, including her former partner Anthony Siganto.
It will also explore the possibility that Ms Britton's injuries were the result of an accident or fall.
Ms Britton's mother Valerie told the inquest while her daughter was in hospital a doctor had asked her, "has somebody hurt you?", to which she nodded yes.
Valerie Britton said she then asked her daughter, "was it Tony?", to which she also nodded yes.
She described her daughter during that time as acting varyingly dazed, agitated and confused due to her injuries.
The inquest was also told that when Ms Britton's son had initially found her with the injuries, he asked if Mr Siganto had done it to her, to which she also nodded her head.
However, when asked by a paramedic if she could identify her attacker, Ms Britton is reported to have shaken her head, and not responded at all to a doctor who asked her the same question, the inquest was told.
Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes will also investigate possible ligature marks found around Ms Britton's neck, and the presence of a blood stain on a pair of curtain ties which DNA testing linked both to her and Mr Siganto.
Roughly a week-and-a-half before Ms Britton's death, Mr Siganto was involved in an altercation with one of her neighbours, Guenther Puntingham.
“She told me that Tony had gone round to Guenther’s and ripped the fly screen off,” Valerie Britton said.
“She thought Tony was jealous. She thought that Tony thought she was having an affair with Guenther.”
Counsel assisting Philip Hogan said Ms Britton told officers responding to that incident that Mr Siganto had made a threat to kill her if she spoke to police.
In outlining the case, Mr Hogan said Ms Britton had a history of substance abuse which at the time of her death was being treated with a daily dose of the synthetic opioid OxyContin.
"It’s no secret that she drank too much for her own good and she battled with other addictions,” Mr Hogan said.
“She didn’t do things by halves, she was strong-willed and lived by her own rules."
At the conclusion of the inquest, the coroner will consider the possibility of recommending charges be brought by prosecutors against any person.
The inquest continues on Tuesday.
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