Boy, 5 dies from head injuries
A 5-year-old autistic boy who died from serious head injuries was a ‘‘beautiful, happy-spirited kid’’ who made his family laugh every day, a friend says.
Leon Michael leFleming Jayet-Cole died in Christchurch Hospital on Friday morning, sparking police to launch a homicide inquiry.
Police are working to pinpoint where and when he was injured.
Leon walked home from school about midday on Wednesday and was taken to hospital about 1.30pm. Police are focusing their investigation on people who came into contact with him on that day.
A family friend said Leon’s death was ‘‘a huge loss’’.
Effectively mute until the age of four, Leon recently started to talk, read and enrolled at Northcote School, close to his Papanui home. He turned 5 in April.
He made his family proud with the new things he learned, she said.
‘‘Little Leon was the most beautiful, kind-hearted, happy-spirited kid. He is a super good reader, he would wake up and the first thing he did was read. He had a super cheeky giggle to match with his super quirky sayings.
‘‘If you’ve seen any photos of him you can see, he has a massive personality, he made us all laugh every day. His family are truly loving and were so proud and amazed by him.’’
Leon’s step-father, James Roberts, went with him in the ambulance to Christchurch Hospital, she said. Leon died with close family and friends around him.
Roberts recently married Leon’s mother, Emma Roberts (previously known as Emere leFleming Jayet), and had effectively been Leon’s father throughout his life, she said.
Leon had a brother, Lucas, 7, who was also autistic, and a sister, Nadia, 10 who he lived with and other siblings elsewhere, the family friend said.
She said the family had good support, but their world was ‘‘broken’’.
Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Anderson said a 14-strong police team were probing the events before the boy went to hospital in an ambulance.
Investigators had spoken to members of his immediate family, staff at his primary school and people who were in contact with the boy after he arrived home.
Leon’s home in Lambeth Cres, Papanui, has remained cordoned off since Wednesday, when shocked residents watched as he was put in an ambulance on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face.
Police and victim support were working with the boy’s immediate family, Anderson said.
People police had spoken to had been co-operative, Anderson said.
Child, Youth and Family (CYF) southern regional director Theresa Perham said the organisation was working with the family to ‘‘ensure the safety and wellbeing of his siblings’’.
She said CYF was working with police but it would be inappropriate to comment further .