I find it encouraging to see that justice was chosen in this case, rather than the normal red tape and/or rules.
Terri given footage of Irwin's death
Thursday Jan 4 00:14 AEDT
Steve Irwin's wife Terri has been given footage of her husband's death after Queensland authorities broke with protocol to ensure it did not get into the wrong hands.
Copies of the film, which shows Irwin being stabbed in the heart by a stingray, have been destroyed, Queensland State Coroner Michael Barnes said.
He said footage was normally held in perpetuity but the destruction of the copies would prevent them being sold on the black market, News Limited newspapers report.
The coronial investigation is almost complete and the footage was handed to Terri Irwin just before Christmas, Mr Barnes said.
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He said police had told him unscrupulous operators would be willing to pay up to $1 million for the footage.
Under usual coronial investigation protocols, a film or audio evidence is handed back to the owners and a copy made for the state to be held in perpetuity.
"I'm not sure whether we will be doing that in this case because of the risk it poses," Mr Barnes said.
He said police had a responsibility to ensure the footage was not leaked.
The findings of the coronial investigation into Irwin's death are expected to be made public within weeks.