A joint inquest into the deaths of Shiralee Tilberoo in Brisbane City Watch House in September 2020 and Vlasta Wylucki, who died in the Southport Watch House in 2018, is set to be held in March.

Both women died from natural causes but there are concerns about their care and supervision, counsel assisting Sarah Lane said at a pre-inquest conference in Brisbane’s Coroners Court on Thursday.

Tilberoo – known as Aunty Sherry – was found dead in her cell four days after being arrested over drug and property matters on September 6.

The 49-year-old mother-of-three was in the watch house for an “unusually long period” while suffering from heroin withdrawal, Lane said.

Other prisoners said she was really sick and shaking, then vomiting and refusing to eat.

On September 9 after being refused bail Tilberoo was prescribed medication for withdrawal symptoms after telling nurses about taking $300 worth of heroin daily until her arrest.

Lane said that night Tilberoo and a prisoner she knew from the streets were in the same cell.

“They had some laughs and tears talking about their friendship together,” she added.

Lane said it appears Tilberoo passed away overnight although watch house staff did not identify any problems.

Her body was cold and limbs stiff after not responding to officers about 6.20am.

Wylucki, who was 50 when she died, suffered from mental health and alcohol addiction issues and a heart condition.

Born in Croatia, Wylucki lived in Canberra from the age of two, later moving the Queensland where she worked as a nurse.

In the weeks before her death Wylucki’s routine involved asking family to take her to the bottle shop to buy alcohol about 9am, or catching a taxi if they refused.

She became verbally and physically aggressive if spoken to about the drinking, often threatening to kill family members, Lane said.

Wylucki was arrested on February 28, and described as being in good spirits and not as intoxicated as on some of the numerous prior occasions she had been in the Southport Watch House.

She handed in her heart medication, but said she would be fine without taking it that night.

Wylucki was put in a cell with another prisoner about 6pm, with officers conducting checks during the night.

“CCTV footage shows that she appeared to be awake and vomiting in between checks,” Lane said.

An officer who tried to rouse Wylucki just after 6am noticed her feet were purple. She was declared dead at 6.38am.

Lane said the inquests would consider checks and procedures in watch houses and the appropriateness of communication with Tilberoo’s family after her death.

Katherine Brady, known as Aunty Kathy, told the court her sister Aunty Sherry was a proud Birri Gubba woman who should not be defined solely by the “degrading way she died”, her health issues or the way she lived her life.

“We will ensure that what Aunty Sherry was forced to endure never happens again,” she added.

Laura Wylucki said finding out what happened to her mother was a huge shock.

“They all thought she went to sleep, and she did, and she never woke up,” she added.

Cynthia Maricic said the death of her sister Vlasta Wylucki had affected the family deeply, and they hoped for some closure from the inquest.

“It has been a very long time … four years (with) basically no answers,” she told reporters outside court.

The inquest before coroner Stephanie Gallagher is expected to last for at least a week from March 6.