The death of Lachie Jones: Tears, heartbreak and accusations during coronial inquest

The father of Lachie Jones won't give up his search for answers. Image / NZME

An inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachie Jones, the young boy found dead in an oxidation pond near his home more than five years ago, has heard often harrowing evidence from family members, neighbours, police officers and medical experts. The proceedings concluded on Wednesday, with the next phase scheduled for August this year. Ben Tomsett reports.

Lachie Jones would have turned 9 this year.

Instead, on the evening of January 29, 2019, a frantic nearly two-hour search for the toddler culminated when a police dog handler pulled his body from a council oxidation pond.

He was 3 years old.

Two separate police investigations concluded that Lachie drowned after walking 1.2km from his mother’s home, down a gravel road, over a wooden fence, and through grassy scrub to get to the second of two ponds.

But over the past five years, Lachie’s father, Paul Jones, has been critical of the police and vocal in his belief that his son did not walk to the pond.

Lachlan Jones, 3, was found dead in an oxidation pond in Gore in January 2019.

In 2022, police admitted steps had been missed in the early stages of the investigation and the case was reinvestigated for the second time, ending with the same conclusion with no evidence of criminal liability.

After being confirmed by the Ministry of Justice last August, a 15-day fixture for the inquest into Lachie’s death, held by Auckland-based Coroner Alexander Ho, began at the Invercargill courthouse on April 29.

Over the three weeks, dozens of witnesses including Lachie’s mother, father and half-brothers gave evidence.

The courtroom was often tense, with lawyers for both parents, the police, and the coroner batting questions to the witnesses. Some were, at times, reduced to tears, while others grew irate when accusations were made.

The Invercargill District Court was the setting of the coronial inquest into the death of Lachie Jones in 2019. Photo / Ben Tomsett

The mother: ‘He was my whole world’

The first to give evidence was Lachie’s mother, Michelle Officer.

Describing Lachie as a vibrant child, Officer recalled their outings to parks and her parents’ house to feed ducks. She shared anecdotes of his fearless nature, and recalled an incident that led her to buy a child harness for his safety.

She spoke about her troubled relationship with his father, Paul Jones, and a deteriorating situation with Jones and her sons Cameron and Jonathan.

Officer and Jones’ relationship ended following a common assault charge against Jones.

Officer detailed the events of the day Lachie went missing. After picking him up from kindergarten, she ran errands, briefly encountering Lachie’s father at the courier depot where they both worked.

Later, while at home, she noticed Lachie had wandered off. Frantically searching with the help of neighbour Deborah Thurston, she experienced moments of panic and confusion before calling police.

Lawyer Beatrix Woodhouse represented Lachie Jones' mother, Michelle Officer. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

Throughout the inquest, Officer faced accusations and scrutiny, chiefly by Jones’ lawyer, Max Simpkins.

Simpkins levelled allegations at Officer regarding her actions preceding Lachie’s disappearance, with insinuations of attempting to establish an alibi.

Officer told the inquest she retrieved Lachie from kindergarten at about 2.30 pm on the day he died, spending approximately 45 minutes at home with him and Lachie’s step-brother, Jonathan Scott.

Simpkins asked: “That’s where your son met his death wasn’t it?”

“You left Jonathan there, and then you went to the [courier] depot at 4pm and told Paul [Lachie’s father] that Lachie was sick. After telling Paul that he was sick and not to come around to the house, you left and then organised the disposal of [the] body didn’t you?”

Officer vehemently rejected the accusation. “How dare you ask a grieving mother that,” she said.

Further questioning delved into Lachie’s medical history and Officer’s response to his disappearance. Accusations mounted, with Simpkins suggesting neglect and suspicious behaviour on Officer’s part.

Simpkins questioned her ability to handle the child, and alleged the drowning of Lachie would have been beneficial to Officer “because you don’t have to deal with your irate boy”.

Officer wept as she responded to the accusations.

“It’s just awful that you’d accuse me of that when you don’t even know what happened. How dare you say that to a grieving mother,” she said.

The half-brothers: ‘There is no way we would have hid my brother’s body’

Jonathan Scott emphasised his closeness with Lachie during his evidence, stating that he’d often taken care of the toddler in their mother’s absence.

He was 16 years old at the time of Lachie’s death.

His relationship with Jones had been good during the early stages of the relationship with his mother, but it soured due to Jones’ behaviour while drinking, he told the inquest.

Jones would return from the pub and “abuse [us] for no reason, after we gave him a ride home”, Scott said.

“You don’t like someone who yells at you.”

Scott faced intense scrutiny from Simpkins, who questioned his integrity, particularly regarding inconsistencies in his initial statement to police, such as a false claim about a cash withdrawal for cannabis.

Max Simpkins, lawyer for Lachie’s father Paul Jones. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

Simpkins suggested Scott’s actions, or lack thereof, during the search for Lachie indicated negligence, insinuating that Scott chose not to assist while his mother desperately searched for her missing son.

Scott replied that Lachie often played hide and seek, and the severity of the situation had not occurred to him.

Prior to police involvement, Scott briefly participated in the search for Lachie on a nearby street but was subsequently picked up by a friend and was driven to an ATM where he drew $50 cash. While he told police in his statement the money was for his brother, he admitted at the inquest it was to purchase cannabis that evening - a transaction that was made shortly after the withdrawal.

The questioning delved into darker allegations, with Simpkins accusing Scott of involvement in concealing Lachie’s body, suggesting Lachie’s body was stored in a freezer.

Simpkins alleged that while Officer was searching for Lachie, Scott elected to “do nothing”.

“You knew your brother was deceased at that stage didn’t you?”

Scott denied the allegation.

“We have a number of statements on the coroner’s file that say Lachie’s body was frozen, stone cold. Mr Scott, what did you do with his body to make it stone cold and frozen cold?” Simpkins said.

He asked if there was a freezer at Officer’s home: “Is that where you stored [Lachie] before you worked out what to do with his body?” asked Simpkins.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Scott.

Simpkins highlighted a job sheet from a police victim support citing Scott’s apparent reluctance to engage with the representative.

Scott told the inquest this was because he did not want to speak to strangers about his brother’s death.

Older half-brother Cameron Scott, 18 at the time of Lachie’s death, gave evidence from Australia via audio-visual link and faced similar accusations to his mother and brother.

At times he grew angry with Simpkins, and spoke of the “defamatory” framing of his family by the media.

He said the allegations that had been made in the preceding days were “disgusting”.

Scott told the inquest that “it was awesome having two younger brothers” and spoke about caring for Lachie and teaching him various activities.

He had been living with his birth father for several months and was there on the night of Lachie’s disappearance.

Scott was playing video games online with friends when he received two calls from his mother informing him of Lachie’s disappearance. During the second call, she asked Scott for the number of the police.

He told her 555, which she dialled, but a friend on the video game told him it was 111, and Scott then contacted his mother to correct her.

Coroner Alexander Ho. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff.

Simpkins questioned the necessity of these calls, alleging they were placed to distance Scott from the situation, which Scott rejected.

The lawyer accused Scott of placing Lachie’s body in the pond, which Scott vehemently denied.

Scott called the accusation “disgusting”.

“There is no way we would have hid my brother’s body,” he said.

Scott admitted to smoking cannabis in the hours after Lachie’s death, stating he “would have done anything to cope with the devastation of losing his little brother”.

He told the inquest he dismissed interactions with a police support person, as he did not want to speak to a stranger about it and had plenty of support from family and friends.

He told the inquest in the years since Lachie’s death, his wife has faced harassment in Gore, with anonymous messages sent to her phone insinuating Scott’s involvement in Lachie’s death.

The father: ‘My son didn’t walk out there’

Paul Jones has been instrumental in bringing about the inquest due to his firm belief that the investigation into his son’s death was marred by police mishandling.

In the weeks before Lachie’s death, Jones had been living with his parents in Invercargill and was there when Officer called him to say that Lachie was missing.

Jones told her: “Nothing better have happened to my son.” He then drove to Gore.

On the way, he made a call to friend Dave Aitken, telling him he knew that Lachie was dead.

Jones confirmed that the allegations put forth by Simpkins during the inquest implicating Lachie’s mother and half-brothers Cameron and Johnnie were made on his behalf.

Paul Jones, father of Lachie Jones, in the witness stand of the Invercargill Courthouse. Photo / Southland Times / Stuff

The father candidly spoke about the discord within Officer’s household and his strained relationship with her other sons.

He acknowledged his drinking issues and volatile behaviour would occasionally lead to confrontations with the elder boys, but told the inquest it was due to his concerns for his son’s well-being, alleging mistreatment from Cameron and Johnnie.

He recalled an incident where Lachie fell from Johnnie’s shoulders, prompting a hospital trip and learning that Cameron disciplined Lachie for misbehaviour with a slap on his hand, resulting in a confrontation from Jones.

Following an arrest for assaulting Officer, Jones recalled telling police Sergeant Hua Tamariki while being transported to Invercargill he was concerned something would happen to Lachie.

Tamariki later gave evidence that their drive was silent.

Jones told the inquest Lachie would never walk or run very far, and he never saw him climb.

Throughout the proceedings, Jones questioned Officer’s version of events, and told the inquest he believed she was a neglectful mother.

“I’m disappointed that they had care of him, and if someone else picked him up that night why isn’t [Officer] trying like I am,” he said.

Under questioning from Beatrix Woodhouse, counsel for Lachie’s mother, Jones said he did not accept the alleged timeline of events established by prior witnesses but if he were to, he still did not believe Officer did everything she could.

“I’m not saying who’s done it but I’m saying my son didn’t walk out there,” he said.

The police: ‘We should have locked the scene down’

The police chain of command on the night Lachie was found remains unclear.

Detective Sergeant David Kennelly, who attended the scene as senior Criminal Investigation Branch officer, told the inquest he believed Senior Sergeant Cynthia Fairley was in charge as the ranking officer for eastern Southland. But Fairly had told the inquest that Tamariki was in charge. Stuff reported that Tamariki told the inquest during his evidence that he believed Fairly was in charge.

Kennelly expressed regrets about the evening in question, acknowledging with hindsight and the subsequent allegations that police “should have locked the scene down”.

Invercargill Police Detective sergeant David Kennelly during the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones' death. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

He told the inquest he did think about gathering forensic evidence from the gate, including swabbing, but opted against it as there had been a large number of people potentially contributing to scene contamination.

Given hindsight, he agreed with Mount that it would have been prudent to put a scene guard in place and do reconnaissance in the daylight hours.

Kennelly told the inquest he looked for injury on the body, he noted no blemishes aside from an incision on one side of his neck that he surmised was part of the resuscitation process, but he noticed no other marks.

Fairley told the inquest that while the right decisions were made from what was immediately in front of police on the night in question, assumptions had been made.

She told the inquest she believed Officer’s version of events: “Her recollection and her demeanour was genuine and authentic ... I believed her.”

Gore Police senior sergeant Cynthia Fairley in the witness stand. Photo / Southland Times / Stuff

The pathologist

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy told the inquest he concluded Lachie drowned by excluding other causes, but stated they believed the autopsy should have been conducted by a forensic pathologist.

The pathologist’s findings, which ruled out external trauma did not include head examination or X-ray imaging and faced criticism from forensic experts Dr Alexander Kolar and Dr Martin Sage.

Both questioned the drowning conclusion, noting Lachie’s lungs were lighter than usual for a drowning case. The pathologist suggested the rare possibility of “dry drowning”.

The pathologist, who has name suppression, dismissed concerns that Lachie’s body might have been stored in a freezer, stating tissue changes from freezing and thawing were not observed.

Lawyer Simon Mount, KC, at the Invercargill courthouse during the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones' death. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

The witnesses

Friends, neighbours, family members, and various other people associated with the family or the area gave evidence.

Throughout, a theme was consistent: Lachie was a clever, happy wee boy, who was loved by many.

Neighbour Deborah Thurston told the inquest she had a special bond with Lachie, and described Officer as “a good mum” to the boy.

Lachie’s kindergarten teacher, Leisa Diamond, said he was a well-behaved boy with a good grasp of right and wrong, and popular among his friends.

The inquest heard from several witnesses that Lachie loved to run and chase ducks - though his father rejected this claim during his evidence.

Photo / Ben Tomsett

The farmer who owns the land where the oxidation ponds are located stated that there were between 500 and 1000 moulting and flightless paradise ducks inhabiting the pond at the time

Lachie’s grandfather, Graham Jones, told the inquest he did not believe his grandson walked to the pond, also stating he did not believe Officer was a good mother to the boy.

Neighbour Maxine Cartwright, aged 14 at the time, initially told police she saw Lachie run past a window that night, but told the inquest she may have been mistaken.

What happens next?

The three-week inquest concluded on Wednesday, with the next phase scheduled for August this year.

Witnesses to be called include three forensic pathologists, an expert investigator to be called by Lachie’s father, and a child behaviour expert.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.