The police say it was suicide. Her family think otherwise.

By MAMAMIA TEAM

This is 33-year-old mother-of-one Nadine Haag.

Four years ago, Nadine was found dead in the shower of her Sydney apartment, surrounded by pill packets, razor blade and what appeared to be a heart-felt note to her family.

“My family, it hurts, it hurts. Please live like there is no tomorrow, ever, ever, ever,” was what was reportedly written in Nadine’s handwriting. “I love you more than words can say. I love you, precious girl. Never stop loving, never stop living, never stop.”

There was also a deep gash in Nadine’s wrist which, together with the aforementioned evidence, led police to the conclusion that the 33-year-old fitness instructor had taken her own life.

But for Nadine’s close knit family that was just too hard to believe.

The woman they described as a “beautiful, bubbly, funny person” who “loved life” and “loved her family” had never displayed any signs of wanting to end her life.

The family were so certain that the police had made a mistake, they launched their own investigation into what happened to Nadine.

They suspected foul play was involved and were determined to find out what really occurred in Nadine’s Sydney apartment on December 3, 2009.

Last night, Nadine’s family’s search for answers was documented on the ABC’s 7:30 program.

During the segment, reporter Tracey Bowden spoke to various members of Nadine’s family as well as family barrister, Penny Wass, and former homicide inspector Lucio Rovis, about the evidence they’ve compiled; evidence that makes a compelling case as to why Nadine Haag’s death should be the subject of a full homicide investigation.

Nadine’s siblings believe the man who responsible for their sister’s death is her ex-partner, who is also the father of her child. The man’s name is Nestore Guizzon and he and Nadine had been locked in a custody battle for their then two-year-old child at the time of her death.

According to 7:30, “the family believes Nestore Guizzon staged it to look like a suicide and forced Nadine to write the suicide note.” The evidence they have to support that theory… is chilling.

The family noticed bruising on their sister’s body – 33 bruises in total. And bruises that weren’t consistent with falling over.

Then, a female police officer who worked on the initial investigation told Nadine’s family that a second piece of paper had been discovered in the bathroom.

At the time, the police thought nothing of the scrunched up sheet but when the family looked closer they discovered what they believed was a secret message from Nadine.

That message was three words long and was hidden under a folded corner of the paper.

“He did it,” it read.

This is a transcript from the ABC’s 7:30:

CHERIE HAAG (Nadine’s sister): Words say it all, he did it.

TRACY BOWDEN: And that was something the police just hadn’t seen?

CHERIE HAAG: They had no idea it was there.

TRACY BOWDEN: And you think she’d written that and then tried to hide it?

CHERIE HAAG: Yes. Yes.

Two years later, the new occupants of Nadine’s apartment discovered further evidence – the same words, scrawled on a bathroom tile.

“He did it.”

The family also looked into Nestore Guizzo’s movements on the day of Nadine’s death. Mr Guizzo maintains he was nowhere near Castle Hill at the time. But his phone records show otherwise.

More from 7:30:

TRACY BOWDEN: The family remained convinced there was only one possibility Nadine had been killed.

They were equally sure there was only one suspect, Nestore Guizzon so they started tracing his movements around the time of her death. He said he’d been home all day; nowhere near her apartment in Castle Hill, but his phone records tell a different story.

LUCIO ROVIS (former homicide investigator): The phone records, they’re fact, they’re empirical, they show that at the time Nestore said he was at home, in fact he wasn’t. He was in the vicinity of Nadine’s apartment.

In August of this year, the NSW coroner overturned the initial ruling of suicide and changed it to ‘open’ after an extensive investigation. This from the Sydney Morning Herald:

In his published reasons, Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon said the actions of Ms Haag’s former partner “raised considerable suspicion” that her death may have been a homicide.

Mr MacMahon said Nastore Guizzon, the father of Ms Haag’s young daughter, had “motive to harm Nadine, had the opportunity to do so and lied about his whereabouts” on the day she died.

Mr MacMahon added: “On the one hand, at the time of her death there was nothing to suggest that she would act to end her life, whilst on the other hand, on the evidence available there are serious difficulties in characterising her death as a homicide.”

The family are now calling on the NSW police to launch a full homicide investigation into what happened to Nadine Haag.

You can watch the ABC’s full report on the family’s investigation here.

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