A coroner has ruled the death of Joanne Ingham — one half of the twin duo who stowed away on a container ship and swam to freedom in 1997— was from natural causes.
The decision released today comes despite bruising on her body and a documented history of domestic violence.
The 43-year-old was found unresponsive in the toilet of a Wellington motel room on June 7, 2022. Her partner Isaac Walker had been with her that night and told police he had heard her get up to use the bathroom.
Police initially treated the death as unexplained. The coroner's ruling said a preliminary scene examination, combined with a documented history of physical abuse between Joanne and her partner, led investigators to suspect she may have died from unnatural causes.
After a thorough investigation, no charges were laid and police said they had no further lines of enquiry.
Pathologist Dr Michael Arendse conducted a full post-mortem at the Wellington Hospital Mortuary and concluded Joanne died from hypovolemic shock caused by a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm, or an internal bleed.
"There were multiple bruises and scars of different ages on the right and left sides of Joanne’s face, anterior neck, right arm, left flank, right hip, left buttock and legs," Arendse observed.
"He estimates some of the bruises at under 24 hours in age with most appearing more than 24 hours in age."
The pair hit the headlines after they stowed away on a container ship. (Source: 1News)
However, it was unclear whether there was a link between the bruising and the rupture and he said it was impossible to prove a direct link.
Arendse also said Joanne had a history of chronic alcoholism and returned high levels of blood alcohol: 381mg per 100mL of blood.
"Some if not all bruises may be ascribed to Joanne having an unsteady gait secondary to alcoholism, recording however this is impossible to determine."
Coroner Tracey Fitzgibbon signed the decision not to open an inquiry on May 28, 2026, finding Joanne died of natural causes and that no circumstances made an inquiry necessary or desirable.
Joanne and her twin sister Sarah became household names in 1997 after stowing away on a Malaysian container ship that departed Tauranga.
The pair jumped overboard with a sailor, Ja'afar bin Mohamed Zan, with whom Sarah had fallen in love, and swam 19 kms to the coast of Queensland. They were found 19 days later.
The sisters were interviewed on the Holmes show and their story made international headlines. Sarah and Ja'afar later married, and Joanne wed Ja'afar's best friend in a shared ceremony in 1999.
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