Premier Roger Cook has demanded a detailed briefing about the circumstances surrounding the alleged murder of Joan Drane, revealing he was “not satisfied” with the initial information he has been provided.
Ms Drane was allegedly murdered by her son – Andre Lafayette Drane – at the Yangebup home they shared, sometime between April 27 and April 29.
As revealed by The West Australian, Ms Drane called police in the early hours of April 27 because she was worried about Mr Drane’s erratic behaviour.
But police declined to attend and a St John ambulance was dispatched instead.
![Police at Sandpiper Loop, Yangebup where the body of a woman was found this morning.](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/c80e5d5486ada2c7ceaae6bb38a3181aeebf09ab.jpg)
Paramedics arrived shortly after 2am on April 27 and – also concerned by Mr Drane’s behaviour – repeatedly requested police back-up. Those requests were also knocked back.
After about an hour, Mr Drane declared he was going to bed, at which point paramedics spoke with Ms Drane before leaving the scene.
She was allegedly murdered at some point in the next 48 hours, with her body discovered on the morning of April 29.
Ms Drane had called police on two other occasions in the weeks prior – March 25 and April 9 – to report her son was acting in an aggressive manner towards her.
![Police at Sandpiper Loop, Yangebup where the body of a woman was found this morning. Joan Mary Drane, 78, was murdered by her adult son Andre Lafayette Drane.](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/8feb8fc038baf980d90f081e2920f86a58db46ea.jpg)
On the second of those occasions, police attended and transported Mr Drane to a hospital for mental health treatment.
Addressing the “very confronting situation” on Friday, Mr Cook said he was determined to understand whether Ms Drane’s concerns were appropriately handled.
“I’ve received some initial indicators in terms of the timelines and I’m not satisfied with the detail of that information,” Mr Cook said.
“I’ll be seeking a full briefing from the Commissioner of Police but also from the health service provider in the area, just to make sure we understand if something went wrong, or what did go wrong, and how we can address it.”
After declining to respond to a series of detailed questions from The West Australian, Police Commissioner Col Blanch told 6PR on Friday he had listened to Ms Drane’s final triple-0 call and was “comfortable” with the decision by his officers not to attend her home.
![WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch has addressed the media following an interview on ABC Radio. Pictured is the Police Commissioner in East Perth](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/d2e9a72b7c930a39cb9bc132d4b77b83e42a21b5-4x3-x298y0w3572h2679.jpg)
He said sending an ambulance was the “right response” and argued the attendance of police could have “exacerbated” the situation.
“The information that I have before me is that there was no violence, no aggression and there was no crime,” he said.
Given paramedics at the scene as well as Ms Drane both requested police attendance in the early hours of April 27, Mr Cook said he had serious questions about how the case was handled.
“I’m not happy with the level of collaboration between the agencies, can I be frank,” the Premier said.
“We need our agencies to work closely together, particularly in these complex situations where you have an overlay of mental health issues with issues to do with law and order and community safety.
“We need them to work together seamlessly to actually make sure that we provide the care and safety that people need.”
The Cook Government funds a co-response program that involves police attending mental health incidents alongside a qualified practitioner where appropriate and where resourcing is available.
Mr Cook said he wanted to know why that kind of response was not initiated.
“That’s going to be one of the key questions I’ll be asking of both the police and St John and of course our health service providers. I want to get to the bottom of this,” he said.