A former NRLW Warriors star died while taking a nap in an Auckland McDonald’s carpark after a long-haul flight from a rugby tournament in Japan, the coroner has revealed.
Fourteen-test Kiwi Ferns forward Kath Wharton (nee Keremete) was found unresponsive in her vehicle by her husband on November 21 last year. Despite efforts to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination of the 41-year-old’s body determined her cause of death was a sudden cardiac arrest, Associate Coroner Hannah Cheeseman said in her findings released publicly on Thursday.
It also found that Wharton had Covid-19 at the time. However there were no significant lung changes identified as a cause of death.
Cheeseman said leading up to her death, Wharton had been at a rugby tournament in Japan with her daughter and husband.
At the time, Wharton told Te Ao Māori News the Asia trip was about giving 14 young female rugby league players more exposure and world experience.
“For our tamariki and our rangatahi in the north, sports is always at the forefront and we forget about our superpower and our taha Māori and how unique that is because we live and breathe it, we forget the uniqueness of it,” she said.
After her daughter’s teammate lost her passport, Wharton travelled with that child back to New Zealand on a different flight than the rest of the team and her family.
As the flight was direct, it landed in Auckland earlier than the original flight.
Wharton collected the family’s vehicle and sent her husband a text message about 12.10pm, saying she had parked by the McDonald’s on Leonard Isitt Drive, and would have a nap before picking him up when his flight landed.
“When [Wharton] did not arrive to pick him up, or respond to messages and calls, her husband made his way to the McDonald’s. There, [Wharton] was located, unresponsive, in her vehicle,” the associate coroner’s findings stated.
She was declared dead by ambulance staff at 2.43pm.
Dr Kilak Kesha, who conducted the post-mortem examination, noted it was possible that a viral illness such as Covid-19, while not lethal of itself, could “unmask” an underlying cardiac issue.
Wharton’s death was also examined by the Cardiac Inherited Disease Group, which noted there was no clear cause of the cardiac arrest, but said the combination of a long flight, jet lag and a concurrent Covid-19 infection could’ve been possible contributors.
Following her death, widower Andrew Wharton said: “Words cannot express the grief we feel at the loss of my darling Kath. She touched so many lives and worked tirelessly for our people, for our tamariki.”
She also left behind four children.
Cheeseman said she would not open an inquiry into Wharton’s death as all available information suggested she died of natural causes, with no suspicious circumstances.
Wharton made her international debut at the 2008 Women’s Rugby League World Cup, which the Kiwi Ferns went on to win after beating Australia 34-0 in the final.
She was a mainstay in the side through to the 2013 World Cup final before taking a break to focus on her career outside of rugby league, and family.
After a six-year hiatus, Wharton came out of retirement at the age of 35 and made three appearances for the Warriors’ NRLW side in 2019. She also twice represented the Māori All Stars.
Wharton was co-chairwoman of the Sport Northland Board, an appointed member of the Rugby League Northland Board, head coach of the Aotearoa Māori All Stars Wāhine team and coach for the Hokianga Storm.
She worked for health and wellbeing advocacy group Healthy Families NZ and earned a master’s degree in Māori and Indigenous Leadership from the University of Canterbury in 2022.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers sport and breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.