Ingrid Bishop continues to fight for justice for son Josh Warneke, who died after being struck on the side of the road in Broome

Heart-wrenching. Anger. Despair. These were the words Ingrid Bishop used to describe her feelings when she received a phone call early on February 26, 2010, telling her that her son, Josh Warneke, had been found dead on the side of Old Broome Road. Exactly one decade later, not one emotion has changed for Ms Bishop, who continues to fight for justice as the controversial, unsolved case that even saw one man wrongfully convicted continues to drag on and her child’s unknown killer roams free. Josh was 21 years old when a taxi driver found him dead in a pool of blood, with massive head injuries, after walking home from a Thursday night out in town. He was a happy-go-lucky, normal Broome young man who loved fishing, camping and a drink with his mates, and was on his way to a successful career as a carpenter. Ms Bishop worked for the local Shire at the time and last saw her son minutes before he left to go out on the night of February 25, when he kissed her goodbye and told her he would take it easy. Speaking to the Broome Advertiser on the 10th anniversary of Josh’s death last week, Ms Bishop said she still struggled to put into words what it was like receiving a phone call hours later that Josh had died. “There is a word for when a child loses a parent — orphan — but there aren’t any words that describe when a parent loses a child,” she said. “There is a reason for that — it is just indescribable. It is relentless, debilitating and all consuming.” After an investigation that spanned 2 1/2 years, which included a televised re-enactment and a $100,000 reward for information on his death, Kiwirrkurra man Gene Gibson was charged with Josh’s death. In October 2014, he was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for the lesser charge of manslaughter, after the Supreme Court found police had repeatedly ignored the law when interviewing Mr Gibson, who could not speak English, and did not caution him on his right to silence. It was then that Ms Bishop’s next battle began — freeing the man she believed was incorrectly behind bars for killing her son. In 2017, Mr Gibson was released after the State’s highest court found he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, with Ms Bishop publicly in his corner throughout the hearing. At the time, she described it as “one of the most profound moments of my life”. She told the Broome Advertiser it was a “quiet victory” for her and she envied the elation and joy of Mr Gibson’s family. Mr Gibson was eventually awarded $1.5 million in compensation, while police went back to square one to find Josh’s killer. But other than increasing the information reward to $250,000, the only other progress in the case was made last month, when Ms Bishop made a public push for a coronial inquest into her son’s death. Ms Bishop said the past decade had been one of ongoing failure in the judicial process that had blocked the family’s healing. “We are forced to access the trauma, the previous botched investigation, wrongful imprisonment of Gene, the ineffective Supreme Court processes and ongoing delays and procrastination, so we can’t get a reprieve or break from it all,” she said. “To continually have to access and discuss the investigation and be no closer to resolution is, in itself, criminal. “Resolution of why and how Josh died will end the emotional and intellectual effort that I have to put into fighting for resolution. “It will be a relief for this to end, as it’s all consuming and not a healthy way to live. “My anger, disappointment and frustration levels are at times excruciating but I choose to fight, so I tolerate it and letting it go one day will be euphoric.” Ms Bishop said the relentless pursuit and follow-up of government agencies and bureaucrats had been the most disappointing element of Josh’s investigation. “It should not be up to the family to drive what I think are practical time frames and actions,” she said. “I started the conversation on the coronial inquest years ago and due to the glacial pace of action, we are still working through the machinations, jumping hurdles and peeling off red tape and listening to reasons why or why not. “I think the greatest disappointment for me is lack of leadership and the unconscious bias demonstrated by all those involved.” Messages from close friends were placed on a decorated, white cross that still stands on Old Broome Road to honour Josh last week for the 10-year anniversary of his death. But for Ms Bishop, every day is an opportunity for her to remember her son. “Whether it’s a young man who pulls up next to me at the traffic lights in a ute with blonde hair or a young man on a beach walking a dog, I celebrate Josh as that would be him, that’s what Josh would be doing,” she said. “(I miss) his smile, conversations and ambitions. “He is 32 this year, so I think he would have a partner, a couple of kids and would have built his own home by now.” Now living 4000km away in Victoria, Ms Bishop said she was very private on her feelings towards the Broome community. “I have a circle of very close friends in Broome and we talk all the time; they also help me with maintaining Josh’s memorial cross from a distance,” she said. “I also have support from retailers like Nik Wevers, who has helped out over time with the most beautiful flowers and refuses to take a cent. I strongly believe that there are people in the community who know a lot more than they share — I don’t understand this and can’t comprehend it. My patience and resolve will outlast them though, so I will not be distracted by their ignorance.”