Three people of interest remain: Rosie Morunga, Dylan Ross, and the child's mother, Storm Wall. Photo / RNZ
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
On the eve of the two-year anniversary of Lower Hutt toddler Baby Ru’s death, police are appealing to those responsible to “do the right thing”.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Wellington district crime manager Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard, says police are confident they’ve put together a “ “comprehensive evidential foundation for consideration of criminal culpability”.
Baby Ru, officially named Nga Reo Te Huatahi Reremoana Ahipene-Wall, died at Hutt Hospital after suffering blunt force trauma so severe it fractured his skull and led to his death on October 22, 2023.
Police have previously said there are three people of interest: Rosie Morunga, her partner Dylan Ross, and the child’s mother, Storm Wall, who were all living at the same Poole St house with Ru, who was days away from his second birthday.
Neither Morunga nor Ross have spoken to the media since the homicide investigation began.
RNZ earlier revealed police had made significant progress in their investigation, dubbed Operation Huia, and were assessing the evidence gathered to determine criminal culpability.
Before the two-year anniversary, Pritchard told RNZ police had sought independent legal advice to assist in reviewing the investigation.
He did not have a timeframe for the review because of the “large volume of material”.
Pritchard said police had established a timeline of the morning of Baby Ru’s death and established he suffered the fatal injuries “quite close to the time that emergency services were called”.
He was unable to comment on the information that made up the police’s timeline, but said the team was “confident we’ve got it as accurate as it can be”.
Pritchard said there remained three people of interest and declined to say whether police believed they knew who was responsible for Baby Ru’s death.
He said the investigation, dubbed Operation Huia, was a “very complex case”.
“We are confident we have put together a really comprehensive evidential foundation for consideration for criminal culpability, and I think the team has done a fantastic job in relation to that, but like any case, there’s always challenges, and the team have remained really steadfast to get the best outcome here and find justice for Baby Ru and his whānau.”
Pritchard urged those in the house at the time Baby Ru was killed to come forward and talk to police.
“We’d really like to hear from all of them. I’m sure they’ve got more information they can provide us in terms of what happened that day.”
He was “almost certain” that there were other people in the community who had information that was of value to the investigation.
“You’ve got a whānau who’ve lost a valuable member of their family, someone whose life was cut short far too young. It’s never too late to do the right thing. It’s been two years, I’m sure the guilt is building up inside them. So come forward and tell us what happened. Do the right thing.”
Two years on the investigation team remained “determined” to get justice for Baby Ru and his family.
“The team’s been dedicated from the word go, a big team really focused on the right outcome. We’re dealing with a child homicide here, that’s no more important case for someone who’s an investigator to be motivated to get the right outcome.
“He was a wee boy, not even 2 years old, so completely vulnerable, you know, relied on parents and caregivers to support him and do the right thing and create the right environment for him to thrive. And that was cut short. It’s a horrific thing for that young boy and his whānau. He relied on those people, and they failed him.”
Wall, who has repeatedly denied being involved in her son’s death, told RNZ on Monday she was happy to speak to police again and wanted to help the investigation.
She recently told RNZ she had been longing for the moment she can drive to the cemetery and tell her son that charges have been laid.
“I’d just be like ‘finally my love’ ... it would just be a celebration. Finally getting justice.”
Wall has previously spoken at length with RNZ about what she alleges happened to her son and who she claims killed him.
RNZ is unable to report what she alleges happened, but she says that day constantly plays in her mind.
“It’s a day that I lost my heart, basically I just lost everything... I will never be full capacity, my smile will never be 100%. I will never forget,” she said.
“It’s like your life flashes before your eyes... It’s like darkness concave like and all you could see was just him and trying to get that darkness away while you’re trying to do CPR and everything, you know, trying to escape from that surrounding and try and save him, that was the hardest. It was a living hell.”
Asked about being labelled a person of interest in her son’s death for almost two years, Wall said she was not bothered by public opinion.
“I’m innocent so therefore I don’t carry a burden... So in reality, I don’t care about the public eye. I just care about his justice.”