Gloriavale inquest anger as Prayer Ready death won't be subject to inquest

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

The death of 14-year-old Prayer Ready in the Gloriavale community was kept secret (this video was first published in 2016).

Family members of a 14-year-old girl who died at Gloriavale are angry there will be no inquest into the circumstances of her death.

Prayer Ready was the focus of a Stuff Circuit investigation in 2016, into her death from asphyxiation after she choked on a piece of meat, while in an isolation room on which the door handles had been disabled.

Earlier this year, members of Prayer's family - her aunt Ruth Green, her sister Connie Ready and her brother David Ready - wrote to Solicitor-General Una Jagose asking that an inquest be ordered under the Coroner's Act.

Prayer Ready, who died aged 14 at the Gloriavale community on the West Coast.

Crown Law has declined the request, acknowledging that while there are concerns over the role of the Gloriavale community leadership, 'they do not meet the threshold for ordering a [new] inquiry.'

* Family of Gloriavale teen Prayer Ready ask for an inquest

* Gloriavale family 'told what to say' about Prayer Ready's death

Prayer Ready, and her mother Sharon Ready, photographed just before Prayer died aged 14 at the Gloriavale community.

* Gloriavale child death that the community tried to keep a secret

* The Gloriavale death that the community tried to cover up**

Prayer's sister Connie Ready told Stuff Circuit, 'I am so furious. I feel as though all this time we have been waiting for justice, the judicial system has been looking for excuses'.

When Prayer Ready died in 2015, Coroner Marcus Elliott visited the isolated Christian community to investigate, but did not hold an inquest.

In his findings, he said, 'Prayer was a much loved member of the Gloriavale community. Her death was a tragic accident. It did not result from any want of care on the part of her family or Gloriavale'.

But a second Stuff Circuit investigation revealed the claims of Prayer's siblings that the leaders of Gloriavale had manipulated the Coroner into believing the disabled door handles played no part in Prayer's death.

Connie Ready, now living outside the community, said, 'Right outside that door is the central telephone system. You can't tell me… you can't… that it was just as easy to jump out the window, run around the verandah, into the hostel to get to the telephone, when you could [have just opened] the door, and it's right there.

'My mum said to me, as soon as Prayer started choking her first reaction was to go for the telephone, or open the door and call out, because everyone lives right there, call out for some help, but she couldn't do that.'

The Gloriavale Christian Community, across from Lake Haupiri, on the West Coast.

When helpers did come, they had to climb in and out through the window.

An elder brother, David Ready, who was a first responder to the emergency, said a meeting was called by the leaders in advance of the coroner's visit to Gloriavale.

The purpose, he said, was to 'sort out what we're going to tell the coroner.'

In their letter to the Solicitor-General, the family wrote, 'To achieve justice for Prayer, and a fair finding as to the reasons for her death, [we] firmly believe there needs to be an inquest at which all witnesses are able to speak freely'.

Deputy Solicitor-General Virginia Hardy has written to the family, rejecting their request.

'I do not consider the concerns you have raised would produce a material difference to the Coroner's conclusion, nor that a new inquiry is in the public interest.'

Hardy's response acknowledges that the 'allegations that witnesses may not have been able to speak freely are of concern', and that 'the involvement of the Gloriavale community leadership in the coronial process [is of] concern', but says 'those things are not enough to justify a second inquiry.'

Under the Coroner's Act, the main consideration of whether a new inquiry is warranted should be whether it's necessary or desirable in the interests of justice.

On this point, Hardy wrote, Without diminishing your loss…I do not consider this 'exceptional threshold' is met in this case.

But Connie Ready said the refusal is based on wrong information.

'Her report references the coroner's report a lot, [saying] he spoke with the family and community members and all his questions were answered effectively'.

'Coroner Elliott never spoke with our family. Those he spoke to were mum, dad and the elders. They hovered throughout the whole day the coroner was at the community.'

Prayer's aunt Ruth Green told Stuff Circuit the decision was 'disappointing, to put it mildly'.

'It seems they have spent the last seven months looking for reasons to deny an inquest.'

The Crown Law document was provided to Stuff Circuit by the Ready family. They made the note on page 2.