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The father of a toddler who was found dead in oxidation ponds at Gore says he might enjoy Christmas a bit more this year, now that a date has been set for his son’s inquest.
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed a 15-day fixture has been set down in Invercargill, starting on April 29, 2024 for the inquest of Lachlan Jones, who was 3 years old when he was found dead late on the evening of January 29, 2019, face down in a council oxidation pond near his home.
His father, Paul Jones, said he was relieved a date had been set.
”It’s still a wee way away, but I might be able to enjoy Christmas a bit more this year knowing I’ve got something to look forward to,’’ he said.
“It’s taken a huge amount of frustration and cost to get this far, so as weird as it sounds, I’m actually looking forward to it.
“Hopefully the truth of what happened will come out,’’ he said.
In August, Coroner Alexander Ho issued a minute ordering the inquest, and he would visit the site in January.
The minute listed nine people whose names were redacted, who would be afforded ‘’interested party’’ status at the inquest, and a further 26 witnesses whose names were also redacted, who would also be called to give evidence.
It said the issues for the inquest would include whether a pathologist who carried out a post-mortem was correct to conclude that Lachlan died from drowning, the circumstances that led to Lachlan being found in the pond, whether other individuals were involved in Lachlan’s death, and whether the circumstances of his death included neglect.
Also in August, police admitted they ‘’missed some steps’’ in relation to their investigation into Lachlan’s death.
Southern Police district commander Paul Basham had requested a national investigations overview of police’s handling of the investigation into the death, and self-referred the matter to the Independent Police Conduct Authority to ensure an independent process was also carried out.