In a court battle between his mother and former girlfriend, a protracted feud over infamous Bandidos bikie Ricky Chapman’s remains has been concluded.
In an emotional hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Western Australia granted Chapman’s girlfriend Stacey Schoppe the right to bury him after it was discovered the couple were once expecting a child.
Chapman died in April while working at Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert iron ore terminal, 1,500 kilometers north of Perth in northwest Western Australia.
The court heard that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy and was working closely with specialists to treat his illness just days before his death.
Chapman died 16 months after being shot by the same assassin’s bullet that killed Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin’s in December 2020 at Perth Motorplex.
Stacey Schoppe, Chapman’s ex-girlfriend and Martin’s stepdaughter, established a GoFundMe effort to pay for his funeral.
She raised thousands of dollars for his funeral, but those plans were quickly put on hold when Chapman’s mother, Suzanne Britt, went to court about who had the right to prepare his funeral.
Ms Schoppe took her case to the coroner, who first decided in her favor before Ms Britt appealed and the case was brought to the Supreme Court.
Ms Schoppe had to prove to the judge that she was in a de facto relationship with Chapman before his death in order for the Supreme Court to find in her favor.
Ms Schoppe presented an affidavit indicating that the couple was expecting a kid in late 2019, a baby he was looking forward to, but they miscarried.
Ms Schoppe told the court that she was simply asking to plan Chapman’s burial because she knew what he wanted, and that if she didn’t, she would give his body to his mother.
‘He spent a lot of time in jail and in agony, and I simply wanted him to have what he wanted for a change,’ the West Australian said in court.
Stuart Shepherd, Ms Britt’s lawyer, argued that they had truly broken up in November 2021 and were staying in a hotel.
He claimed that text messages sent to a young woman in February about looking for a new home revealed the couple had not reconciled months later.
Ms Schoppe indicated in her victim impact statement concerning Martin’s murder that their relationship ‘ended under the pressure’ that followed, according to Mr Shepherd.
The fact that the couple hoped to start a family together prompted Justice Jeremy Curthoys to award in Ms Schoppe’s favor.
‘Mr Chapman was ecstatic when he learned they were expecting a child and heartbroken when Ms Schoppe miscarried, indicating they intended to start a family in a marriage-like partnership,’ he explained.
While the couple did split for a period between November and December last year, he observed that this did not mean their relationship was over.