Police too slow investigating death of man who fell from ladder, found with knife in chest, pathologist says

CIB took 10 days to attend the house of a man who was found dead with a knife in his chest. Photo / File

The last time Ann O’Grady saw her husband alive, he was standing on a ladder next to his house attempting to rid the muck in the guttering.

She had been married to her husband, 68-year-old Rangiora veterinarian Kevin O’Grady, for 46 years. He was generally fit and healthy and a fan of biking and tramping in the weekends.

But after leaving home at 3pm on the afternoon of Waitangi Day last year, she returned an hour later to find Kevin lying on the ground.

He had a ladder on top of him and a knife protruding from the left side of his chest.

Despite attempting CPR, O’Grady died. A police investigation didn’t begin until 10 days later.

Today the coroner released her report into the death, formally concluding O’Grady died from a stab wound in the chest and a knock to the head. Police ruled out the possibility of any other person contributing to the death.

While the investigation noted it was unusual to clean gutters with a knife, police initially concluded the death wasn’t suspicious and the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) didn’t visit the scene immediately after the death.

Two days later, the pathologist conducting a post-mortem contacted the coroner’s inquest officer raising concerns. The next day the inquest officer contacted a CIB officer about the branch’s lack of involvement.

“The story of a fall off a ladder with an accidental stab wound is theoretically possible but would be highly unlikely and would only be a conclusion made after all other possibilities have been satisfactorily excluded,” the pathologist later wrote to the CIB.

The CIB officer, soon to go on leave, passed the job to another officer. He arrived back at work the following week to find no further work had been done.

The CIB investigation finally began on October 16 when officers visited the home. They found a bucket with numerous knives, and knife marks were found in the guttering.

The ladder was reconstructed in the same place, and found to be on unstable ground. The fact O’Grady was wearing gumboots may have contributed to his fall, the CIB found.

Ultimately, police were satisfied no other person was involved in his death.

Forensic pathologist Dr Leslie Anderson found the stab wound “highly unusual”. There were no previous published examples of accidental stab wounds with a knife causing death, although the possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

“Unfortunately, from a forensic pathology perspective, the initial handling of the scene by police limited the ability to obtain information that would be helpful in interpreting the context of the stab wound,” she said.

Coroner Sue Johnson formally ruled O’Grady died after falling from the ladder.

“At some point while he was cleaning and sealing the gutters, he fell off the ladder which he became entangled in, knocked his head, and the knife pierced his chest. Precisely what caused him to fall from the ladder is unknown,” she found.

“It is unfortunate that the full circumstances of Mr O’Grady’s death are not able to be determined. I regret that I cannot be any more precise.”

Canterbury Rural Area Commander inspector Peter Cooper acknowledged police delays caused issues with the investigation.

“This is regretable and we understand that this has likely caused further distress for Mr O’Grady’s family, but it is important to ensure we can provide some closure for them. We are especially mindful of the impact this will have had on his wife of 46 years and our thoughts are very much with her,” he said.

“Since Mr O’Grady’s death, our staff have met with coronial staff to discuss this case and lessons that can be taken from it.”

Ethan Griffiths covers crime and justice stories nationwide for Open Justice. He joined NZME in 2020, previously working as a regional reporter in Whanganui and South Taranaki.