Selesa Tafaifa had spent significant time in solitary confinement before altercation that led to her death, inquest hears

The 44-year-old Samoan died in Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre after being restrained in handcuffs and placed in a spit hood

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A mentally ill woman who died in custody after a confrontation with prison officers had experienced a decline in behaviour around the period she was isolated in the jail’s detention unit, an inquest has heard.

Selesa Tafaifa died in Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre in November 2021 after being restrained in handcuffs and placed in a spit hood. The 44-year-old Samoan woman had become engaged in a physical altercation with guards after becoming upset at not being able to call her family.

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