Autopsy shows Coral suffered brain injury

The grieving family of Coral-Ellen Burrows yesterday learned the 6-year-old schoolgirl died of a brain injury.

Police said they would not provide any further details about her death until the case came to court.

Coral's stepfather, Steven Williams, has been charged with her murder. He has not entered a plea and is being held in custody until a court appearance next month.

Detective Inspector Rod Drew said Coral's family were told yesterday of the cause of death and her body was returned to them last night.

He would not comment further on the results of the autopsy.

"I can understand why people are interested in how Coral died, but I'm not prepared to jeopardise our investigation and the court proceedings by going into the details," Mr Drew said.

Coral's family will hold a memorial service in Featherston tomorrow and her funeral, in Matamata, is expected to be on Friday.

Mr Drew said speculation about Coral's death and how she was found did not help the police investigation and was distressing for her family.

Coral's body was found last Friday at a remote spot on Lake Onoke, on the south Wairarapa coast.

The grim discovery was made 10 days after a huge search was launched when she failed to come home from school.

Over the weekend, the police searched a layby area 6km from where her body was found and took away items for analysis.

Mr Drew would not say what had been found but said other areas might be examined as part of the investigation.

Police would soon complete work at the home where Coral lived with her mother, Jeanna Cremen, brother Storm and Williams.

"We still have a lot of investigative work to do ... A sizeable inquiry team will continue here in Featherston."

The memorial service will be held at St Theresa's Church in Featherston at noon tomorrow.