Ruthless-Empire homicide: Officer in charge of Baby Ru case issues plea for people to tell the truth

The officer in charge of the investigation into the killing of toddler Baby Ru, is appealing to the three people in the home when he suffered his injuries to tell the truth one month on from his death.

It comes as his whānau say they’re “broken inside”, waiting for answers.

On October 22 Ruthless-Empire Souljah Reign Rhind Shephard Wall died after arriving at Hutt Hospital unresponsive with severe head injuries.

The toddler, now known as Nga Reo Te Huatahi Reremoana Ahipene-Wall, was living at a home in the Lower Hutt suburb of Taitā with his mother Storm Wall, Rosie Morunga, and her partner Dylan Ross.

As of Wednesday, no arrests have been made.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard, spoke with the Herald about the case which was still progressing with a large team of officers working through lines of inquiry.

Baby Ru died in hospital on October 22.

He said nothing had changed in relation to the three persons of interest.

“From what we’ve established there is information that they collectively will have that they have not provided to us.”

His message to the trio was to tell the truth.

“You know what happened. It’s a young child, it’s a horrible thing that’s happened and we just want the truth to be able to give some closure to the family.”

Pritchard said police were still waiting on toxicology results to come back in relation to the toddler as well as forensic analysis on several items taken from the property where he suffered the fatal injuries.

“It’s fair to say that each day we are making progress. These cases can take a long time to come to a resolution and that is our goal, it’s to continue and focus on any line of inquiry, following up on any leads, and the ultimate goal being to hold someone to justice for what has happened.”

He said police believed the toddler suffered his injuries on the morning of his death when all three persons of interest were home.

“We’re keeping an open mind in terms of what may have caused the injuries, but we are in ongoing consultation with various medical specialists who are trying to determine what that might be, but at this stage, it’s an open mind in terms of what caused the blunt force trauma.”

The Herald earlier revealed a piece of fabric, similar to a shoelace and about 30cm long, was allegedly wrapped around Baby Ru’s neck when he arrived at the hospital.

Pritchard confirmed there was a piece of fabric around his neck, but he was unable to draw any conclusions on that because it was not a factor in the cause of his death.

“It’s very unusual and we are trying to unpick what it means, how it got there, and again going back to the people that were in the house at the time. Someone will know the answer to why it was there, but we don’t have an answer at this stage.”

Police were still after sightings of a DVR system believed to contain CCTV footage from the address where the toddler suffered the fatal injuries. Pritchard said the DVR system was a “key piece of evidence”. Police were yet to recover other items they believed were taken from the address.

“Being a CCTV recorder it’s highly likely it’s got footage on it that’s really important to the investigation.

“If you know anything about that, where it is, what happened to it, we’d really like to hear from you.”

He said the case had a number of complexities, which made the investigation challenging.

“Ultimately, if we were to file charges against a person or persons the evidential threshold is high and has to stand against any person that is potentially charged.

“When we’re getting mixed accounts from people it makes it more challenging because the people there will know the truth. So we have to conduct a really thorough investigation... the team is really motivated, really focused.”

The toddler’s uncle, Ngatanahira Reremoana, posted on social media a tribute to mark the month since he was killed.

“We are still broken inside. I know our whānau are crying ourselves to sleep, having the deepest regrets, sleepless nights to not even eating.

“I guess it’s all part of the grieving process. I wish we didn’t have to grieve for our baby but you were the one who was taken from us in a vicious way.”

Reremoana said he and his mother did what they could to help Baby Ru.

“We spent all your lil life trying to protect you, but people didn’t see the bigger picture,” he wrote.

“Our home was your home. You grew here through most of your milestones, from crawling to walking. When you started walking we were always on edge but when you started running that’s when it was all on, up and down the hallway and driveway nearly ran off the deck, even though it was 10cm high.”

Reremoana ended the post saying whānau would “get those answers soon”.

Toddler suffered ‘violent death’

Wall’s mother recently told whānau she wanted to make a new statement after police made an appeal for information. She was interviewed by police in Taupō for several hours.

While at the police station, Baby Ru’s great-aunt, Sarah Reremoana, said she was shown a photocopied photo of a piece of fabric that she thought looked like a shoelace.

“[The piece of fabric] had been tied quite tightly twice around the neck … it was around the baby’s neck and the doctor cut it off his neck.”

Reremoana said she was in tears looking at the photo.

“It’s quite sad when you’re sitting with them and they just take off another layer and another layer and it just gets worse and worse.”

Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard confirmed to the Herald a hard drive police are seeking was used to record CCTV footage from the property.

The hard drive is a Provision-ISR NVR5-8200PX+ DVR.

Police are also looking for sightings of a car used to take the toddler to hospital - a grey-green Nissan sedan, registration number TE6972.

All three persons of interest were in the car at the time it was driven to the hospital.

The car then returned to the address where they lived and items related to the investigation were removed, Pritchard said.

Police investigating the death of Baby Ru are seeking sightings of this vehicle on October 22, the day he was taken to Hutt Hospital. Photo / NZ Police

The toddler suffered a “violent death”.

“To see this level of violence against a young child, it is really hard to fathom.”

Wall earlier claimed in an interview with the Herald that on the evening of October 21 one of the people in the house told her to go to bed and that they would look after Ru.

Dylan Ross, Rosie Morunga, and Storm Angel Wall

About 10pm, he was put into her bed. Wall said he “looked normal”.

“I just gave him a last hug, just checking he’s all right.”

When she woke the next morning, he was “drowsy”. “I thought he was tired.”

She was getting ready to visit a cousin when she heard noises in the house. She claimed she was then told Ru was choking.

She tried doing first aid, “to see if he could get any form of phlegm or anything out and therefore he was getting his grasp of breath”.

She then took him to the hospital.

Asked whether she had any part in her son’s death, she replied: “No, I didn’t.

“I just want justice for my son ... I want justice for my Ru Ru.”

‘I suggest he be uplifted, asap’

The Herald earlier revealed that in December 2022, while Wall and Ruthless-Empire were living in Hamilton, the toddler’s uncle contacted Oranga Tamariki with concerns about Ruthless-Empire, claiming his nephew did not get the “well-deserved care he needs”.

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani confirmed the toddler was not in its custody or care.

“However, we are actively working alongside our partner agencies to piece together what, if any, support Baby Ru and his whānau were receiving at the time of his death, and if interventions could have occurred.

Dylan Ross (left) and Rosie Morunga (right) outside the Poole St house in Taitā where Ruthless-Empire was critically injured.

Oranga Tamariki was working with police to support their investigation.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.