Lachie Jones death: Coroner gives family access to police reinvestigation file

Interested parties in the Lachie Jones inquest have been given restricted access to the police reinvestigation file and until February 5 to tell the coroner what should happen next.

Police handed the file concerning the third investigation into Jones’ death to Coroner Alexander Ho in August.

This investigation was led by Waikato-based Detective Inspector Darrell Harpur, with oversight from Detective Superintendent Ross McKay.

Ho said parties should have an opportunity to review it before he decides whether to progress or conclude the coronial inquiry.

“The next step for the Court is to decide how the coronial inquiry should be progressed or concluded,” he said.

Lachie was 3 when he was found dead in a Gore oxidation pond in January 2019, after going missing from his home.

Two earlier police investigations concluded he had likely drowned accidentally.

After a five-week inquest, Coroner Ho found he could not determine Lachie’s cause of death on the balance of probabilities.

He was not satisfied that accidental drowning was the most likely explanation and criticised serious shortcomings in the police and medical investigations.

He directed police to undertake a “full and fresh” investigation, while stressing the direction did not implicate any individual in Lachie’s death.

The coroner said interested parties should be able to examine the new police file before he decided how to proceed.

“It is first fair, and appropriate, to allow interested parties to review the police re-investigation and to make submissions on how I ought to proceed,” he said.

Coroner Ho said the restricted release was intended to prevent misunderstandings about untested material in the file.

Interested parties may use its contents only for the coronial inquiry and share them only with families or advisers.

Coroner Ho said the file was large and parties needed time to review it and seek advice.

He allowed extra time over Christmas and New Year before submissions are due.

Ben Tomsett is a journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.