Lachie Jones: Coroner orders new investigation in toddler's death

Six years after Gore toddler Lachie Jones was found dead in a Gore oxidation pond, the coroner has handed down his findings.  

And coroner Alexander Ho has called for a third police investigation, concluding that there were gaps in the original investigations that make it difficult to truly establish what happened to the three year old that night.  

NZ Herald reporter Ben Tomsett has been following the proceedings, and joins us The Front Page for a bonus episode to discuss the coroner’s findings.  

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Sound Engineer/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Ethan Sills

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Kiota. I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is a bonus episode
of the Front Page, a daily podcast presented by the
New Zealand Herald. Six years after Gore toddler Locke Jones
was found dead in a gore oxidation pond, the coroner
has handed down his findings. Coroner Alexander Hoe has called

(00:27):
for a third police investigation, concluding that there were gaps
in the original one that make it difficult to truly
establish what happened to the three year old that night.
Enzed Herald reporter Ben Thomson has been following the proceedings
and joins us now on the Front Page to discuss
the coroner's findings. So then the key thing people want

(00:53):
to know is was this foul play or was it
an accident? What is the coroner said on that regard,
So Coroner.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hoe, he's not actually reached a definitive conclusion whether Lockie's
death was a result of foul play or an accident.
He said, the evidence has not established the police's original
conclusion was obviously that Lockey accidentally drowned after wandering off,
Nor was he able to rule out other possibilities, including
third party involvement. So ultimately, the coroner's ultimately found that

(01:23):
the cause of death was undetermined. He said, he's not
satisfied that the evidence makes accidental drowning the likeliest one,
and that renders all other possibilities unlikely.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
So the bulk of the report highlights what Hoe says
are gaps in the initial investigation. What are some of
those common errors or concerns that police made when looking
at this case?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
So, and then his findings the coroner has He's essentially
slammed the initial police investigation. He's I said witness statements
and timings around Lockie's movements were inconsistent and at times
completely unreliable. These gaps meant he was unable to look
at the investigation and conclusively determine how and when Locke

(02:10):
came to be in the water. He was also fairly
critical of the pathologist's report, saying the original post modern
report was so poor that he could also not safely
rely on that, specifically relating to the fact that Lockey's
skull was never opened during the autopsy, leaving the potential
faithal head trauma unexplored.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
A lot of the media attension around this case has
been driven by Lockey's father, pol his council suggested during
the inquest hearings last year that Locke's mother, Michelle Officer,
and her sons Jonathan and Cameron Scott were involved in
Locke's death in some way. What did Hoe have to
say about that line of questioning, so.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Cornahoe, he did address those claims, those accusations directly. He said.
The theory pushed by Paul Jones's council his lawyer Matt Simpkins,
that Lockey's mother, Michelle or her other sons Locky's half
brothers killed Lockey or stored his body in a freezer
they moved it to the pond. Cornahoet said that was
implausible and unsupported by evidence. It was in the findings

(03:12):
that Locke was seen alive and running down Salford Street
between eight fifty nine to fifteen pm, which rendered the
theory of an early death and the body being placed
in a freezer theory not forcible in the coroner's words,
So they said it was inherently improbable that Miss Officer
was complicent in any unlawful killing of her child. So

(03:33):
in regards to Cameron Scott, the eldest of the half brothers.
He said there was no implication or essentially nothing to
place Cameron around the home around the time Lockie went missing.
As for Jonathan Scott, who was living with Michelle and
Lockey at the time Lockee went missing, he caught him

(03:54):
to question his reliability as a witness, but he failed
to make any definitive rulings on Jonathan's whereabouts or actions
the night of Lockey's disappearance, largely due to a lack
of reliable evidence.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
So what of the families had to say about the
new investigation and the rest of the coroner's findings.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yes, So, Following the coroner's findings today, Paul Jones spoke
to media outside the courthouse. He said he was quite
satisfied with Coronerhoe's findings and that he had done a
wonderful job over the last few months. He did speak
to his doubts that a subsequent investigation will bring her

(04:37):
any more closure, but he did say that he would
like to see the reinvestigation conducted by Metropolitan Police from
Auckland as well as being overseen by the Police Commissioner.
Michelle Officer released a statement through her lawyer, Beatrix Woodhouse,
saying that she welcomed the coroner's findings, acknowledging that the
coroner accepted that Locke slipped away from her in a

(05:00):
brief moment of inattention, and she wished to thank the
members of the public who provided evidence and the many
people who showed her compassion throughout this time. She also
expressed her concern with the coronial process. She intended to
be a healing process, but she felt an adversarial and

(05:21):
quite a traumatizing experience. She reiterated that throughout the process
she has remained steadfast in her account and following the
colner's findings, she hopes to grieve privately alongside her two sons.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
So what are the next steps? Ben? Is it too
early to say what will happen with the police investigation? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (05:39):
So what's next? Is? The next move essentially lies with
the police. The coroner has recommended a full and fresh reinvestigation,
emphasizing that it's an operational matter for police to determine
how and by whom it would be carried out. He
has suggested the investigation should be led by an experienced
officer outside from the Southam district, and he's directed police

(06:00):
to report back to the Coroner on the progress on
the new investigation by our sixteenth of January next year.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
And Ben, you've been reporting on this case for quite
some time, sitting through the inquest, and we spoke to
you about that when that happened, and of course this
one as well. What sticks out to you in this case,
what's new that you've found today?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
I think, or the coroner directing a new investigation or
a reinvestigation be opened into the matter. I think it
was somewhat expected, but at the same time quite a
surprise that the coroner has not directly pointed the finger
at anyone, but he's essentially saying, let's reopen this investigation

(06:42):
to narrow and close any room for misjustice or anything
like that. He's essentially trying to close all the other possibilities. Essentially,
there are just a lot of big, wide empty spaces
and the layout of information here. You know, there are
witnesses who say they saw Locke running along Salford Street,

(07:07):
but they failed to corroborate certain times as other witnesses.
And he essentially said it's the main fact that Locke
was indeed running down Salford Street, but whether or not
he was intercepted at the corner of Salford Street and
Grassland's Road, which is the road leading towards the oxidation pond.
He said that will remained a possibility. While I'm plausible

(07:28):
there was no evidence to rule that out. Thanks for
joining us, Ben no worries. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You
can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage
at enzad Herald dot co dot nz. The Front Page
is produced by Ethan Sills and Richard Martin, who is
also a sound engineer. I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to The
Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcast,

(08:00):
and tune in on Monday for another look behind the headlines.