Sophia Crestani death: ‘Emotionally draining’ inquest for University of Otago student draws to a close in Dunedin

The parents of Sophia Crestani have been praised for their conduct during a “emotionally and intellectually draining” inquest into her death.

On October 6, 2019, Crestani, 19, and hundreds of others crammed into a 114-year-old villa on Dundas St, Dunedin, known as The Manor, where a party dubbed “The Manor presents Maggot-fest” was being held.

The party spiralled out of control as more than 300 people attended, prompting tenants to call the police. In the ensuing chaos, Crestani was fatally crushed on the staircase.

A five-day inquest into her death, taking place at the Dunedin District Court, concluded today, with the court hearing evidence from a breadth of witnesses including tenants of The Manor, partygoers and police.

Her parents, Elspeth McMillan and Bede Crestani, represented themselves during the inquest, both cross-examining witnesses.

Throughout the five days, Bede Crestani wore his daughter’s shoes while McMillan wore an imprint of Sophia’s fingerprint on a necklace. A portrait of the teenager sat before the court.

Bede Crestani has worn his daughter Sophia Crestani's shoes every day of the five-day inquest into her death at a student flat in 2019. Photo / Otago Daily Times

In her closing statements, Coroner Heather McKenzie addressed Sophia’s parents, saying she hoped their ability to speak face-to-face with witnesses allowed them to ask questions or say things they wanted to say.

“You have shown kindness and respect to witnesses, even when you’ve asked hard questions, and you’ve done this all the while looking at the photo of your departed but beloved Sophia.

“You’ve done your very best for Sophia,” she said.

“It’s been intellectually taxing, but also emotionally draining in these circumstances.”

Police counsel Richard Smith also addressed Sophia’s parents, saying they could rightfully feel bitter, but they had given no indication of that whatsoever and were instead intent on a solution. He thanked them for their work on the Sophia Charter.

Bede Crestani and Elspeth McMillan also addressed the court, saying they now felt that in some way they were able to let Sophia rest in peace.

Crestani said he and McMillan had faith in the justice system and looked forward to the coroner’s recommendations.

Outside of court, they addressed the media.

Sophia Crestani and her mother, Elspeth McMillan.

McMillan said some of the witnesses they spoke to had carried “terrible guilt and anxiety” around the night of the party, and she hoped those speaking in front of her and Crestani may have helped them in some way.

“They need to be happy with what they did, they did an amazing job,” said Crestani.

McMillan said it had been challenging for the pair to self-represent throughout the inquest, but it was important for them to be there.

Crestani said they had a barrister in Wellington, but they wanted to represent themselves because “it’s our daughter”.

“We wanted to look after her the best way that we possibly can.”

Earlier, Sergeant Ian Paulin, Dunedin’s alcohol harm prevention officer at the time of Sophia Crestani’s death, told the inquest of vast differences in student behaviour between the 90s and 2000s and the present day.

Alcohol reforms in the late 1990s introduced cheaper alcohol to the market, prompting students to drink in their flats. Police observed a rise in the popularity of RTDs.

The market shift led to the closure of famous student bars such as The Gardens Tavern, The Captain Cook and Monkey Bar, contrary to the common belief police or the University of Otago shut down the bars, he said.

Paulin said that after student bar closures, flats essentially became “de facto nightclubs”.

Police officer Ian Paulin gives evidence to the inquest into Sophia Crestani's death at a student party in 2019. Photo / Otago Daily Times

He said there was an “us versus them” mentality in how student parties were policed in those days.

“We kept order by clearing the streets, it was a giant game of whack-a-mole - you’d clear one area and they’d pop up in another area.”

He said the inquest had previously heard about named flats being known to host big parties, but at present nearly every flat in North Dunedin was named.

Student bar The Captain Cook, which closed in 2013, had a capacity of 900: “That’s 900 students that aren’t out on Castle St looking for something to do,” Paulin told the inquest.

In the year after Sophia Crestani’s death, there was a “gigantic shift” in police mindset, and formal operations have been in place since 2021, he said.

During parties in the student area, sections of roads were now blocked off to allow students to congregate on the street and outside enclosed flats and police maintained a presence outside these areas.

He said that since formalising these procedures, noise complaints had dropped by 44 per cent, and police no longer had to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand at couch fires.

He said the arrest rate had “gone through the roof”, but that was due to the heightened police presence - “and I would guess that 95 per cent of those were non-students”.

Coroner Heather McKenzie at the inquest into the death of Sophia Crestani. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Paulin noted the work of “Campus Cop” John Woodhouse, known to students as Woody, for having a positive reputation and visiting flats listed on the Good One online party register as a pastoral care figure to offer advice and a direct line of police contact, and reminding the DJ to turn off the music at midnight.

Paulin said the issues Dunedin faced were different to other student population centres, as “the best part of 20,000 students are concentrated in one area”, with no on-licence premises nearby.

He told the inquest that North Dunedin had the highest level of MDMA use in the country, while alcohol companies were also targeting students.

He said a prosecution was currently under way for an alcohol manufacturer delivering free alcohol to students, and police had previously tried to gather evidence on other such deliveries - “It’s very hard to get students to admit they were given free alcohol.”

The deputy proctor at the University of Otago, Geoff Burns, told the inquest the role of Campus Watch around large parties was for staff to be a visible and sober presence, and they lacked the authority to intervene in private student flats or to break up parties.

“Knowing what we know and losing Sophia, if we could have seen ... into the crystal ball, then a number of people would’ve gone in and done things,” he said.

Sophia Crestani.

Otago University Students Association president Debbie Downs and University of Otago director of student services Claire Gallop told the inquest that media reports of unruly student behaviour demonstrated by only a minority led to a negative perception that potentially encouraged disorderly behaviour.

Gallop said much of the negative behaviour in the student area in recent years was not by students, noting only one of the seven arrests in the area on St Patrick’s Day this year was a student.

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.