Mother denies creating an alibi for the day of her son’s death

Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Paul Jones speaks as Day 2 of the Coroners Inquest begins in the Invercargill Court.

An inquest into the death of three year old Lachlan Jones is being held in Invercargill.
Lachlan’s body was found in the Gore District Council wastewater ponds on January 29, 2019.
His mother says he ran away from home and drowned, but his father has doubts about her story.

The mother of a three-year-old boy found dead in the Gore oxidation ponds has faced heavy cross-examination about the final moments of her young son’s life.

Lachie Jones’ mother can now be named as Michelle Officer, of Gore, after her lawyer Beatrix Woodhouse said she would not be seeking continued name suppression.

A coroner’s hearing is being held in Invercargill to look into the death of Jones, found dead late on the evening of January 29, 2019, face up in a council oxidation pond near his home.

Lachie Jones’ body was found in Gore’s wastewater ponds in January 2019. He was three years old when he died.

Officer, the first witness called, has given evidence for two days, with breaks when she became emotional.

Lawyer Max Simpkins, acting for Lachie’s father Paul Jones.

During the inquest, Officer denied organising the disposal of her son’s body and then visiting a friend to create an alibi.

Under cross examination from lawyer Max Simpkins, who is representing Lachie’s father Paul Jones, Officer said she had picked Lachie up from kindergarten about 2.30pm on the day he died and was at home with him and Lachie’s step-brother Jonathan Scott for about 45 minutes.

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, who gave evidence from behind a screen replied: “No way, that’s just ridiculous, that’s just false.”

Questions were raised about whether Officer was at the depot, where both she and Jones worked, and she produced a hand-written diary entry listing her hours for the day.

Coroner Alexander Ho is hearing evidence into the death of three-year-old Lachie Jones.

Simpkins referred to evidence from retired US forensic detective Karen Smith, who had concluded that Officer visited her neighbour to create an alibi. Officer said she had lost sight of Lachie and he had run away.

Officer rejected the claim and said she was “sticking to her story’’.

Lachie’s father Paul Jones outside the Invercargill courthouse before day two of the inquest.

She had told the inquest that Lachie had been in the neighbour’s kitchen.

“That’s my biggest regret in my whole life that I didn’t pick him up,’’ she said.

But she told a 111 call taker that Lachie had been in the laundry, and while on the phone told the neighbour that Lachie had been at her house, Simon Mount KC, who is assisting Coroner Ho, told her.

Lawyer Robin Bates representing the police at an inquest into the death of Lachie Jones.

“He went to visit you,’’ she said on the call.

On a map of the house she showed where in the house she had been.

Simpkins said Lachie’s autopsy results had been reviewed by pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar and forensic pathologist Dr Martin Sage and neither had been able to safely conclude that the cause of death was drowning.

Simon Mount KC is assisting the coroner and cross-examined Lachie Jones’ mother Michelle Officer on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m not going to comment how he died. I’m not a medical expert,’’ Officer replied.

She noted that she had consented to the autopsy taking place, while his father had declined.

Simpkins also queried why Officer went home during the initial phase of the search for Lachie on the night he went missing.

“Throughout the 11 minute 111 call you did not call out Lachie’s name once,’’ Simpkins said.

She said she was told to go home by police because they needed a starting point to find her, and she didn’t know where else to look for him.

“He could have gone home. I didn’t know where he was, he could have gone home,’’ she said through tears.

Simpkins detailed Lachie’s illnesses and subsequent doctor and hospital visits. He said he would be calling a witness who would say Lachie had been neglected.

Officer reiterated that Lachie had been under Jones’ care as well as hers at the time, and she was doing her best for her son by taking him to the doctor when he was sick.

Under cross-examination from police lawyer Robin Bates, Officer said when she was concerned about anything to do with Lachie’s health she had taken him to the doctor, spoken to Plunket or called Healthline.

Bates played videos of Lachie chasing ducks in Queens Park in Invercargill when he was two.

Earlier in the inquest, Officer said her son was fearless.

“When he passed it felt like my whole world was gone. I wanted everything perfect for Lachie, I always wanted him to be happy.”

A coroner’s ruling meant no witness evidence can be reported until they have completed giving it.

The inquest is continuing.