Mother denies creating alibi for day of son’s death
The mother of a 3-year-old boy found dead in an oxidation pond 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 seek continued name suppression.
A coroner’s hearing is being held in Invercargill this week to look into Lachie’s death on January 29, 2019, in a council oxidation pond near his home.
Officer, the first witness called, denied organising the disposal of her son’s body and then visiting a friend to create an alibi.
Officer said she picked Lachie up from kindergarten about 2.30pm the day he died, and was at home with him and Lachie’s stepbrother, Jonathan Scott, for about 45 minutes.
Under cross-examination from lawyer Max Simpkins, representing Lachie’s father Paul Jones, she was 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 replied: “No way, that’s just ridiculous, that’s just false.”
Simpkins referred to evidence from retired American forensic detective Karen Smith, who concluded that Officer visited her neighbour to create an alibi. Officer said she had lost sight of Lachie and he had run away. She told the inquest 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.
Simpkins said Lachie’s autopsy results were reviewed by pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar and forensic pathologist Dr Martin Sage, and neither was able to safely conclude the cause of death was drowning.
“I’m not going to comment how he died. I’m not a medical expert,’’ Officer replied.
The inquest is continuing.