Proceedings in motion after Pope's death, a monthly snapshot not representative of police recruitment and concern of decline in teacher numbers.
New evidence has emerged in the disappearance of John Beckenridge and his stepson, Mike Zhao-Beckenridge.
Coroner Marcus Elliot will hear from new witnesses this week.
Man reportedly said he “helped” the missing pair and they are alive.
Engineering expert says no evidence vehicle crash was staged - but steering wheel and brake pedal never recovered.
New evidence has emerged about the mysterious disappearance of Southland man John Beckenridge and his young stepson Mike more than 10 years ago.
A friend of John Beckenridge allegedly told people after the pair vanished: “we helped him out and they are alive”.
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.
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.
As a result, Coroner Elliot was tasked with probing the disappearance and making a ruling on what likely happened to the pair.
The inquest was held in 2023.
But after new evidence came to light, a three-day hearing was scheduled to assess the information.
Coroner Elliot will hear from the man who allegedly reported helping Beckenridge.
He will also hear from others about that claim.
An engineering expert has also spoken about whether it would have been possible for Beckenridge’s vehicle to have been sent off the cliff with no driver.
“Dr John Raine, the independent expert who was asked to address whether the Volkswagen could have been rigged to drive off the cliff top without a driver at the controls, will give evidence today,” she said.
“The second part of the reconvened hearing relates to some new information police received on the 26th of June 2023, after the last submissions were made.
“Police investigated this new information. They provided a report to the coroner in November 2024.”
A missing persons poster was distributed around hotels and resorts in Gili Island after a woman who was holidaying there claims to have spotted the pair three months after their mysterious disappearance. Photo / Supplied
Rebekah Jordan, counsel assisting the coroner, said shortly after the media reported that a car had gone off a cliff at Curio Bay, the landowner Paul Watson, spoke to his cousin Oliver Watson on the phone.
“Oliver Watson’s evidence will be that during the phone call, Paul Watson said: ‘we helped them out and they are alive’,” she explained.
“Paul Watson will give evidence about his recollection of the search for Mike and John in the Curio Bay area and how he learned about the cliff-top scene on the farmland he leased to his neighbour.
“Paul Watson will also respond to his cousin’s evidence that he helped Mike and John to escape. He says this is untrue.”
The coroner will also hear from other members of the Watson family about “dynamics” and the relationship between Oliver and Paul Watson.
Jordan reminded the court that this week’s proceedings were “not an inquest”.
Rather, it was to “assist the coroner in determining whether there is jurisdiction to open an inquiry”.
“The main issue is whether it is likely that Mike and John Beckenridge are dead,” she said.
A photograph submitted during the coroner's hearing in the Christchurch District Court on May 23, 2023 into the disappearance of John Beckenridge and his son Mike Zhao-Beckenridge (inset left) on March 13, 2015; John Beckenridge's car is hoisted from the water at Curio Bay (inset right). Photos / Supplied
Raine gave evidence this morning about whether Beckenridge’s vehicle could have been “rigged”.
He said the overall probability of the vehicle launching off the clifftop without a driver behind the wheel was “very low”.
“It is highly unlikely the driver could have safely exited at the launch speed without being seriously injured or going over the cliff edge.”
Raine said the vehicle went off the cliff in a straight line.
For that to happen without a driver a “remote-controlled electro-mechanical actuator system” would have been required.
He said there was no evidence such a system had been used.
A simpler “tethering system” for the steering wheel with a “crude” spring-loaded prop or weight on the accelerator would have been unreliable and made driving in a straight line “difficult”.
He confirmed that the steering wheel and brake pedal were never recovered when the crash wreckage was found.
Even in the absence of the mechanisms, he said he would have expected other evidence to be found in the vehicle, for example, holes drilled in the floor or bracket mountings.
The hearing continues.
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.
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
