Lachie Jones inquest: More allegations of body disposal denied

Tuesday, 7 May 2024

The second week of a Coroner's inquest into the death of three-year-old Lachie Jones is under way.

A friend of Lachie Jones’ half-brother has denied claims he helped his friend dispose of the toddler’s body.

On Tuesday morning, Jade Vigers gave evidence via AVL from Australia at the inquest into the death of the toddler, who was found dead late on the evening of January 29, 2019, face up in a council oxidation pond near his home.

Vigers said he and Scott had known each other since he was about three or four and and he ‘’considers Johnny to be my brother’’.

Vigers is the son of Debbie Thurston, who last week gave evidence that she had heard Lachie in her wash house when he visited with his mother Michelle Officer on the night he died.

Vigers said he was smoking cannabis with some friends at the Gore A&P Showgrounds when a woman approached them and asked if they had seen a blond boy who was missing.

Jonathan Scott, 21, who is the half-brother of dead toddler Lachie Jones, arrives at the Invercargill courthouse last Wednesday morning to give evidence at the coronial inquest into the toddler’s death.

Vigers said he immediately asked if it was Lachie and was told it was.

Lawyer Max Simpkins, who was representing Lachie’s father Paul Jones, put it to Vigars he asked if it was Lachie because he already knew he was dead.

“I can say you can suggest anything you want mate, doesn’t make it true,’’ Vigers replied.

Lawyer Max Simpkins at the Invercargill courthouse during the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones’ death.

Simpkins suggested Jonathan had contacted Vigers that day and asked him for help in respect of disposing of Lachie’s body.

“I’d say you should be ashamed of yourself for saying that. That’s disgusting,’’ Vigers replied.

Vigers is the son of Debbie Thurston, who gave evidence saying she is sure she heard Lachie in her house on the night he died, at the inquest last week.

When Simpkins asked him if he wanted to tell the real story of what happened that day, Vigers replied ‘’Lachie went on an adventure and he found himself in trouble just like little kids do’’.

Vigers said he moved away from Gore because of the nasty behaviour from Jones.

Coroner’s counsel Simon Mount questioned Vigers about 39 text messages and a phone call exchanged between Scott and Vigers between 9.44pm to 10.41pm that evening.

Korbyn Kirby leaving the Invercargill Courthouse on Tuesday during week two of the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones’ death.

Vigers said he thought they would have been asking whether he was out looking for Lachie but generally he did not recall what they were about, or if they were about a bag of cannabis Scott had bought that night.

Police lawyer Robin Bates asked Vigers again whether he assisted Scott in any way to dispose of Lachie’s body.

“Absolutely not,’’ he replied.

Salford St in Gore, where Lachie lived with his mum before he died.

Earlier on Tuesday, another friend Korbyn Kirby was called to give evidence.

Kirby said he had been at school and at work the day Lachie died.

Scott has previously given evidence that he had not been at school that day and had stayed in bed until about 2pm in the afternoon.

When questioned by Mount, Kirby said he could not recall whether Scott was at school.

During questioning by Bates, Kirby said he received a Snapchat from Scott and he and his cousin picked him up from the corner of State Highway 1 and Charlton Rd.

He believed it was about 10pm at night.

They drove to an ATM in Gore where Scott withdrew $50 to buy a bag of cannabis.

In response to questioning by Simpkins, Kirby said he did not notice anything unusual about Scott and he was his usual self on the night.

Tanya Ogilvy leaving the Invercargill Courthouse on Tuesday during week two of the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones’ death.

When they returned to the intersection, Kirby saw flashing police lights down the street and asked Scott what was going on.

Scott told him his brother was missing and he got the impression it had happened before, Kirby told the inquest.

“He was pretty unfazed. It seemed like he’d [Lachie] done it before,’’ he said.

Kirby and Scott had gone to school together but he had not kept contact with him since they left school, he said.

Earlier in the morning, police introduced a new witness, Tanya Ogilvy, who lived on Salford St and was involved in the search for Lachie on the night he died.

She was alerted to the search when she heard Lachie’s mother Michelle Officer and her neighbour Debbie Thurston yelling.

She gave evidence that she walked down to the gate of the sewerage ponds with Thurston during her search for Lachie, but Thurston told her ‘’he wouldn’t have come this far’’ because a dog was barking and Lachie was scared of dogs.