Heartbreaking details emerge about teen boy killed after sleeping rough in garbage bin

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned this story contains images of people who have died

A court has heard heartbreaking new details about the life of a young boy who died while sleeping rough in an industrial bin and the growing questions over whether child protection authorities failed him.

WATCH ABOVE: Inquest into Budda Spencers life before his death in a garbage truck begins in Adelaide

Thirteen‑year‑old Budda Spencer’s family released a never‑before‑seen photo of the boy as the inquest into his death began on Monday, forcing his mother, grandmother and aunty to sit through confronting evidence about the final years of his life.

Budda died in May 2021 after he and two other boys climbed into a commercial bin in Port Lincoln to seek shelter for the night. They had planned to stay awake but fell asleep, using cardboard to keep warm.

A garbage truck driver unknowingly emptied the bin with the boys inside.

Budda, who had a hearing impairment, became trapped as he tried to escape. The other boys survived.

The court heard Budda had been known to the Department for Child Protection for years — with multiple notifications made in the weeks leading up to his death, and concerns raised long before that.

In 2019, Budda was barely attending school. He didn’t have food, was struggling to learn and government agencies later became aware he was walking the streets at night. By 2021, things had deteriorated further. He was sleeping at school after being up all night, identified as an adolescent at risk and charged with several criminal offences.

A service station worker told the court she had been buying him food — and that Budda had previously been sleeping in the grandstand of a local oval.

The inquest has now moved to Adelaide, where witnesses from multiple government agencies will be questioned about whether more could have been done to prevent the tragedy.