Vic dad loses appeal for son's body THE body of a man will be released to his partner after his father failed to overturn a Victorian coroner's decision. Coroner Peter White determined Megan Jones was the domestic partner of David Lawrence when he died in a car crash on March 22 and released the body to Ms Jones. But Mr Lawrence's father Stephen Lawrence claims the couple had split up about two weeks before his death. His appeal to overturn the coroner's decision was dismissed on Friday, with Victorian Supreme Court Justice John Digby saying Mr White had not made an error of law in his decision. "I am not satisfied the coroner has come to a determination that was simply not open to him," Justice Digby said. Victorian Coroners Court documents show Ms Jones told the court the pair had separated nine days before David Lawrence's death but intended to rekindle their relationship at a later date. She said the pair had been together since 2008 and discussed marriage, children and renovating a home together, according to the documents. Stephen Lawrence told the Victorian Coroners Court the couple had an "on-again, off-again" relationship and his son had been dating other women. Justice Digby said Mr White's decision to release the body to Ms Jones was reasonable given the evidence and dismissed Stephen Lawrence's appeal. "It was perfectly open to the coroner to come to the determination he did about that relationship," Justice Digby said.