A 21-year-old man found dead on a Broome roadside 16 years ago was likely murdered, a coroner has found.

Joshua Warneke, 21, was walking home after a night out in Broome, when a taxi driver found him in a pool of blood with a severe head injury on Old Broome Rd about 3am on February 26, 2010.

Police initially thought Mr Warneke was the victim of a hit and run or may have been assaulted.

A botched police investigation also led to the wrongful conviction of Gene Gibson, an Aboriginal man with limited understanding of English and a cognitive impairment.

He served five years in jail over Mr Warneke’s death before he was acquitted on appeal.

But coroner Rosalinda Fogliani found the 21-year-old was likely the victim of an unlawful homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head with a weapon.

She said something significant happened to Mr Warneke in the few minutes he was last seen walking home and being found on Old Broome Rd.

“Sadly, Josh never made it home,” Ms Fogliani said.

Dozens of witnesses gave evidence at a coronial inquest into Mr Warneke’s death that was held in Broome and Perth over several days in 2024.

Ms Fogliani handed down her findings on Monday, revealing police did not have resources to investigate complex crimes in regional Western Australia compared with Perth and missed opportunities to obtain forensic evidence from the scene.

“There was a failure to appreciate that the placement of the unsterile white sheet over Josh’s body and the rolling of his body risked the forensic preservation of the scene and forensic evidence,” she said.

Ms Fogliani also found officers had insufficient training to interview Aboriginal people from remote communities and lacked awareness about vulnerabilities arising from language difficulties, substance abuse and how to interview people in remote communities.

Ms Fogliani said there was no evidence that Mr Warneke had been struck by a vehicle, and there was no injuries on his body that were consistent with a collision or any gravel disturbance at the scene.

She was unable to determine who was responsible for his death but believed it was an unlawful homicide and referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“Josh’s mother (Ingrid Bishop) has shown courage and tenacity throughout her long and dignified search for the truth,” Ms Fogliani said.

“The police investigation was beset with difficulties, many of which have been acknowledged. It is likely that critical evidence was lost due to some of the failures that I have outlined in this finding regarding forensic analyses.

“Nonetheless, investigative methods continue to improve and there may be further avenues to explore. It is my hope, and expectation, that all efforts continue to be made to find out what happened.”