John and Mike Beckenridge disappeared on March 13, 2015, and have not been seen since.
John and Mike Beckenridge disappeared on March 13, 2015, and have not been seen since.
WARNING: This article discusses suicide and may be distressing.
John Beckenridge sent a raft of “concerning and aggressive” messages to his “closest friend” leading up to his disappearance, even hinting at leaving on a Russian submarine.
“I thought he was going to do something irrational, hurt somebody maybe,” the friendtold the court.
Swedish-born helicopter pilot Beckenridge broke a court order by collecting his 11-year-old stepson Mike Zhao-Beckenridge from his Invercargill school on March 13, 2015.
A week later, Beckenridge’s 4WD Volkswagen Touareg went off the cliff near Curio Bay, in Southland. But when police recovered the vehicle there were no signs of any bodies and the two have been missing since.
However, Mike’s mother Fiona Lu is convinced her son is alive and that her former partner, Beckenridge, staged the pair’s death after she moved Mike from Beckenridge’s Queenstown home to Invercargill with her new partner, Peter Russell.
An inquest is probing the disappearance of Mike Zhao-Beckenridge, who vanished with his stepfather in 2015.
Now, Coroner Marcus Elliot is looking into the case at the Christchurch District Court to consider whether it is likely the pair are dead.
On Thursday evening, the court heard from Beckenridge’s closest friend who shared a “strong bond” and a great deal of trust with the missing man.
The friend said he noticed Beckenridge’s mental state deteriorating after Mike was placed into his mother’s care.
“John was quite upset, I could feel it when I was talking to him. He was sort of depressed and didn’t know what he was going to do,” the man said.
In a letter, Beckenridge said: “Just trying to survive the holocaust ... life is not funny and certainly no good anymore!”
The man said while Beckenridge could be stubborn, he “had a heart of gold” so it was out of character when he became “hateful and aggressive” toward Lu in the messages he sent.
Lisa Preston KC, assisting the coroner, questioned a sentence in the letter Beckenridge had written to his friend about him and Mike getting on a Russian submarine
John Beckenridge. Photo / Supplied
However, his friend brushed this off as a joke Beckenridge would make when he wanted to get away from people. He said Beckenridge never spoke to him about a potential escape.
As days went on the friend became more concerned for Beckenridge, and worried he “might do something stupid” as his frustration towards the legal system escalated.
“I thought he was going to do something irrational, hurt somebody maybe.”
Beckenridge was saying that there was no more “Johnny be good”, and that a different side to him would come out, his friend told the court.
The friend had a phone conversation with Beckenridge and told him not to do anything drastic or something he might regret. Beckenridge agreed, he said.
Last week, at the outset of the inquest, Lisa Preston KC outlined the case. She said Beckenridge met Mike’s mother, who is from China, in 2006. Lu’s parents were raising Mike at the time.
The pair later moved with Mike to Queenstown. Their relationship broke down in 2014. Shortly after that, Lu moved to Invercargill.
In February 2015, the Queenstown Family Court made an order that Lu should have care of Mike.
Mike was unhappy to be taken away from his stepfather and was secretly communicating with him by email, pleading for Beckenridge to come to take him away from his mother and her partner.
On March 20, a week after the pair disappeared, Beckenridge’s friends began receiving “concerning” texts from him, stating the “Gestapo” was after him and Mike, and they would soon get on the “Midnight Express” for departure.
On March 22, items belonging to the Beckenridges such as clothes and car parts washed ashore in the Curio Bay area. Soon after, Beckenridge’s vehicle was found at the bottom of the cliff.
The police national dive squad was able to investigate the wreckage on March 29 but it wasn’t until May 6 that the vehicle could be recovered. No bodies were found.
To date, police have had 60 suspected sightings of the Beckenridges or their vehicle, some of which have been deemed unlikely or eliminated.
Information about possible sightings continues to be reported from within New Zealand and from Kiwis overseas.
The hearing continues.
SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• What's Up: 0800 942 8787 (11am to11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• Helpline: 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
