‘HE DIED FOR NOTHING’

Father slams government agencies for missing red flags over stepdad’s violence before his son was killed

The father of an autistic boy brutally killed while in the care of his violent drug-addict stepfather has slammed government agencies that missed a series of red flags.

Michael Cole believes Child, Youth and Family, the Canterbury District Health Board and police have not been held accountable, despite all admitting failings leading to Leon JayetCole’s death in May 2015.

The grieving dad believes his son “died for nothing”.

Findings from an inquest into the 5-year-old’s death released late yesterday that said all three agencies failed to identify the risk to Leon and another child have done little to appease Cole.

He vividly recalls May 27, 2015, when police called him saying his son was hurt. As he rushed to the hospital he received another call: Leon probably wasn’t going to survive.

After the little boy died from his horrific injuries — blunt-force head trauma, broken jaw, spinal bleeding and retinal haemorrhaging — Cole descended into darkness.

“His death affected me so badly . . . The pure concentration of grief . . . I’m a pretty tough man, but nobody can be ready for that,” the 52-year-old told the Weekend Herald.

Stepfather James Roberts was charged with Leon’s murder. But he died before his murder trial in the High Court at Christchurch, leaving many unanswered questions.

For the past five years, Cole has fought to try to get some accountability over his son’s death.

However, during the inquest process he felt there was no compassion shown towards him and his family by the various government agencies.

“They were always trying to wriggle or wrangle themselves around a corner — it was never to front up and face it,” Cole said.

“As it stands with CYFS [now Oranga Tamariki], police, the hospital, they’ve left me with the same feeling that I’ll always be left with — that he died for nothing.

“It’s a private hell and a private battle which is an ongoing thing.”

Social workers accepted during the inquest there had been three earlier incidents, dating back to January

2013, where children at the Lambeth Crescent house in Redwood had been reported with bruising but CYFS had failed to investigate further.

In her report, Brigitte Windley found that before his death Leon was exposed to an escalating risk of violence by Roberts and the three agencies should have identified that, but did not.

“It is impossible to say whether identification of the risk of violence would definitely have led to the type and scale of interventions that would have prevented Leon’s death . . . but any intervention would plainly have reduced the likelihood of Leon being killed.”

The coroner made six recommendations designed to improve information gathering, risk assessments, and analysis for staff responding to the risk of violence that threatens the safety of children.

Cole hasn’t read the coroner’s report, he doesn’t see the point. “I don’t hold my breath . . . I don’t think anything the [coroner] can recommend is enough to change anything.

“Because you’re telling people to do their job, when what you’re telling them should just be common sense.”

Cole says he is especially disappointed with CYFS, describing it as “extremely broken”.

“They’re only ever going to be held accountable once a lot of the issues they have, have been fixed,” he said.

“One thing I’ve noticed with these inquests is that they try and tell everyone they will try and change but that’s as far as things go.

“But I don’t believe at all that sticking a wee plaster on will stop the bleeding,” Cole said. “This organisation is completely broken and you have to start at zero, there’s no doubt about it. It’s got to be running at 95 per cent at least, not 5 per cent.”

Oranga Tamariki’s deputy chief executive children and families south, Alison McDonald, said it was “clear there were missed opportunities to identify the danger James Roberts presented. He was seen as a support to the family, rather than a threat”.

“The coroner’s report made it clear there was an accumulation of evidence across agencies that should have raised the level of concern about the children’s safety,” she said.

“We have accepted the coroner’s findings, and will carefully consider them alongside other Government agencies mentioned in the report.”

Canterbury DHB said it would “fully consider” all of the coroner’s recommendations. “We accept that our systems and processes in place at the time of our interactions with the family could have been better utilised, and we remain committed to enhancing clinical information-sharing between other public sector organisations,” said Dr Richard French, acting chief medical officer.

Police said they accepted the initial findings and are now reviewing

I’m a pretty tough man, but nobody can be ready for that. Michael Cole, on Leon’s death

They try and tell everyone they will try and change but that’s as far as things go. Michael Cole, on CYFS (now Oranga Tamariki)

the final report to identify any areas for improvement. “Child abuse is unacceptable and police is committed to working with our partners including Oranga Tamariki and DHBs to prevent, identify, and investigate harm,” a spokeswoman said.

“This includes the work of our child protection teams . . . who are guided by the child protection protocol, the joint police and Oranga Tamariki response to dealing with reports of child abuse.”

Meanwhile Cole says he continues to miss his son — a “beautiful little character” and “special little angel” — every day.

“I cherished every second with him. He just had love for everything. Everyone he touched just wanted to hug him.”