Joey Thurston was a much-loved father, friend, son and brother. His connections to his family were deep-rooted. His loved ones remember him as a family-oriented person who was always enthusiastic to organise family events to bring everyone together. He was an avid Hawthorn Football Club supporter. Joey was only 37 years old when he passed away in police custody on Sunday 16 August.
In recent years, Joey had worked hard to reconnect with those he loved and to plan for his future. He’d fought to get two of his children out of the child protection system, had found a stable home and was engaged to be married. Recently he had been learning more about his family history and culture.
Prior to his passing Joey had been living with family. He was struggling with his mental health, but things were looking up. Joey was due to start a new full-time job the day after he died, however he would never make it to his first day at work.
There have been at least 643 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Deaths in Custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its final report in 1991, with 91 of those unjust deaths being in 2026 so far. This is a crisis that is worsening and our communities deserve better.
VALS’ Wirraway Practice will be supporting and representing Joey’s family as they begin the heartbreaking and challenging process of a coronial inquest, seeking justice and truth around what led to Joey’s passing.
This sudden and tragic loss of Joey has turned the family’s world upside down. They are shocked and heartbroken by his unexpected passing.
He is so loved, and he is so deeply missed.
Quotes Attributable to Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:
“Joey and his family deserve answers and they deserve justice. VALS are proud to walk alongside his family who have the support and love of the Aboriginal community behind them. Their journey towards justice will be a long and arduous one as those families who have walked in their shoes know all too well.
Time and time again we see our people being overpoliced, over-surveilled, being met with violence at the hands of authorities and our lives are at risk every time this happens. This is a police state not a state with a social safety net to support people through their most challenging of times – until that changes we will see many more families sitting in the starkness of the Coroners Court wondering if their loved one will ever truly see justice.
We hope the coronial process will see Joey for the person he was, uphold their responsibility to search for answers and honour Joey’s life. We hope the coroner’s inquest can start giving them the answer they need.”