30 Apr 2024

Emotional scenes at 3yo's inquest

From Checkpoint, 5:26 pm on 30 April 2024

The second day of the inquest into a little boy's death in Gore, has wrapped up in the Invercargill District Court. Three year old Lachlan Jones was found dead in a local oxidation pond in 2019. His mother Michelle Officer has been in the witness box for much of the past two days. Her testimony has included accusations of abuse she suffered - both verbal and physical - at the hands of Lachlan's father, Paul Jones, and counter claims from Paul's lawyer, Max Simpkins, that Ms Officer covered up the boy's death. Lisa Owen spoke with RNZ reporter Tess Brunton, who's been following proceedings.