See the full Southland times article here.
The mother of a toddler who died in mysterious circumstances at Gore has started giving evidence at an inquest into the death in Invercargill.
Lachlan Jones was 3 years old when he was found dead on the evening of January 29, 2019, face up in a council oxidation pond near his home.
The mother, who has name suppression, has been granted leave by Coroner Alexander Ho to sit behind a screen while she gives her evidence.
A child’s toy police car and a fire engine can be seen through one of the screens.
Suppression orders put in place by the Coroner mean Stuff is unable to report on what the mother says until she has completed giving her evidence.
Coroner Ho started proceedings by acknowledging the presence of Lachie’s family and friends and said their loss would have “unimaginable” but the inquest was being held because “we need to establish whether anyone has broken the law”.
The inquest was a ‘’fact-finding exercise’’ and he was acutely aware that some members of the family had been waiting five years for it to begin, he said.
“Empathy alone does not find answers.”
Speaking before the inquest started on Monday morning, Lachie’s father, Paul Jones, said he was feeling apprehensive heading into the courtroom.
“Today’s the day I start finding out what happened to my son, and how he died, and how he got to the ponds,’’ he said.
“I’ve waited five-and-a-half years for this, and it feels a bit surreal that the day is actually here.”
He was being supported during the inquest by psychic Kelvin Cruickshank, who had followed the case and instigated its review by a former forensic detective from the US.
Cruickshank said he had been involved with the case for about the past two years and had become good friends with Jones.
Jones had spent more than four years fighting for an inquest, after he disputed the findings of two police investigations which determined that there was no evidence of neglect or criminal liability in relation to Lachlan’s death.
Police maintained Lachie had run away from his mother’s home and had drowned in the ponds, but there were no marks on his body, no water found in his lungs and his body was cold when it was found.
Members of Lachie’s family, neighbours, family friends, and the police would all give evidence during the three-week hearing.