Mother of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones speaks at inquest, tells of heartbreak

The mother of Lachlan Jones has spoken for the first time, telling an inquest into her 3-year-old’s death that she felt like her whole world had gone after he was found dead.

On January 29, 2019, Lachlan was found dead late in the evening face up in a council oxidation pond 1.2km from his home in Gore, Southland.

A lawyer for the father of Lachlan has alleged her actions that evening indicate an attempt at creating an alibi.

Lachlan’s mother, Michelle Officer, whose name suppression lapsed today, was the first witness in a 15-day coroner’s inquest.

It was the first time she had spoken publicly following the death of her son.

Under questioning from her counsel Beatrix Woodhouse, she described Lachlan as a “bright wee boy”, clever, and having lots of friends.

“He was my whole world. I just loved him so much, I wish I was with him,” she told the inquest in Invercargill before Coroner Alexander Ho.

Officer sobbed throughout while she spoke of her son.

“I slept with him, I breastfed him - when he passed it felt like my whole world was gone.”

He loved playing with his toy police car and role-playing as police.

“He just brought so much joy to all of us,” she said.

The inquest into the death of Lachlan Paul Graham Jones, held by Auckland-based Coroner Alexander Ho, has begun at the Invercargill courthouse. Pool photo / Southland Times/Stuff.

Officer told her counsel about taking trips with Lachlan to Hokonui Park, Queen’s Park, and her parents’ house to feed the ducks.

“He was fearless, you had to hold him and say, ‘Lachie, don’t go in the water’ and I don’t think he understood... He wasn’t at that age where you got it.”

She said she eventually bought a child harness for Lachlan following an incident at a Subway, when Lachlan got away from her and nearly ran into traffic.

She recalled a later incident while out shopping at a Glasson’s store with Lachlan in the child harness, when she was approached by Lachlan’s father, Paul Jones.

Officer alleged he said: “Get that thing off my son, he’s not a dog.”

She described a tumultuous and on-off relationship with the boy’s father Paul, whom she met through work, that lasted five years before ending in 2018 following a report of concern to Gore police on August 20 that Jones had been verbally and physically abusive toward her, the inquest heard.

Officer said she did not want to see Paul again during that time, and that she received help from Women’s Refuge, counselling, and other support.

At the questioning of her counsel, she described the events during the afternoon the day Lachlan was found dead.

Lachlan Jones, 3, was found dead in an oxidation pond in Gore, January 2019.

On the afternoon of January 29, 2019, Officer said she picked Lachlan up from kindergarten before taking him on some errands, including to the depot where Paul worked and she also occasionally worked odd jobs.

She saw Paul at the depot and briefly spoke to him. She asked if he would be coming over that night to see Lachlan, but he said he was unable to as he was getting a haircut in Invercargill.

She then picked up her other son, and took him and Lachlan home.

She said it was a really hot day, and she tried and failed to get a sprinkler going for Lachlan before ordering pizza.

Paul Jones doesn't believe his son walked to the ponds on his own. Photo / George Heard

After eating dinner and putting on a YouTube video on the television for Lachlan, she went to help her other son out of a weight-lifting mishap, then returned to the kitchen where she saw a flash of high-vis outside the window,

At first she thought it was another child dressed similarly to Lachlan before making the realisation it was her son, she told the inquest.

She said she ran out of her house, giving chase to Lachlan as he giggled, he then veered on to the property of a friend of Officer’s.

Catching up to Lachlan, Officer decided to visit the friend with her boy, who knocked on the door himself.

Her friend never saw the boy.

Officer said she had Lachlan in her peripheral vision, but took her eyes away from the boy for roughly 30 seconds while speaking with her friend. When she looked back, Lachlan had gone.

Beatrix Woodhouse in the court. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

Her friend suggested Lachlan had returned home, so Officer went in that direction.

At home, she asked her other son if he had seen Lachlan, and returned to the friend’s, having not found him.

Officer and her friend searched the friend’s property before returning to Officer’s address.

They searched a park near Officer’s home before returning to her property.

They walked in the opposite direction of the park and came across two young girls on a trampoline. The friend asked the girls if they had seen a little boy, and they pointed in the direction of the river, near where the oxidation ponds are located.

Panic set in, said Officer.

At the oxidation pond, she fumbled with her phone and dialled a wrong number in a panicked bid to reach police.

She was on the phone with a police communications officer for 11 minutes and returned home on the advice of the operator.

She said in the aftermath of Lachlan’s death, her world had been destroyed and she had received allegations that she was a bad mother.

“I’ve been depressed and in grief . . . I just don’t want to live sometimes, I want to be with my wee boy.”

Counsel for Lachlan’s father Paul, Max Simpkins, began questioning the mother regarding the day-to-day care of Lachlan.

Lawyer Max Simpkins, lawyer for Lachie’s father Paul Jones, on day one of the coroner's inquest for Lachlan Jones' death in the Invercargill District Court. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

Simpkins asked about her other son’s relationship with Paul, saying that they did not like him, and asked Officer if they “despised” him.

Officer told the inquest Paul was cruel to the boys, but they were not hateful toward him and avoided him.

He questioned Officer on Lachlan’s medical history, including an alleged case involving green pus around his gums, saying that an expert opined this was a sign of neglect, which Officer denied.

Simpkins alleged that on the afternoon of Lachlan’s disappearance, the boy had embarrassed his mother when she picked him up from kindergarten by locking her out of her car. He questioned her ability to handle the child.

When Simpkins alleged the drowning of Lachlan would have been beneficial to Officer “because you don’t have to deal with your irate boys”, she broke down.

“It’s just awful that you’d accuse me of that when you don’t even know what happened. How dare you say that to a grieving mother,” she said.

Police lawyer Robin Bates at the coroner's inquest into the death of Lachlan Jones at the Invercargill District Court. Photo / SouthlandTimes/Stuff

When questioned by Simpkins on her immediate actions upon realising Lachlan had gone missing, Officer said in her panicked state she hesitated to call the police as she believed she had to wait 24 hours.

The first number she dialled was 555.

He questioned why she returned home despite Lachlan remaining lost, raising that she offered to go home while on the phone with police.

Simpkins said that an expert witness had opined Officer went to the friend’s home before Lachlan’s disappearance to establish an alibi.

Lawyer Simon Mount KC in court. Photo / Southland Times/Stuff

He alleged the time of Lachlan’s death was sometime after returning home from kindergarten and before seeing Paul at the depot.

He alleged that after seeing Paul, Officer organised the disposal of Lachlan’s body and created an alibi for her and her other sons.

Officer refuted the allegations, calling them “ridiculous”.

Police counsel Robin Bates asked her questions about Lachlan’s nature. He showed the court two videos filmed by the witness of Lachlan running after ducks at Queen’s Park in Invercargill while Officer shouted after him to come back.

Officer told Assistant Counsel Simon Mount KC it was the biggest regret of her whole life that she did not pick Lachlan up when she caught him at her friend’s house that evening.

Mount noted the intense interest in the case, putting it to Officer if she had asked herself the same questions.

“How can it be that a 3-and-a-half-year-old boy runs away 1.2km, nine o’clock at night, dirty nappy, climbs a fence, travels across some pretty uncomfortable ground . . . through the vegetation, no one out searching sees him, he doesn’t respond to anyone calling out his name, the police dog doesn’t pick up the scent until quite close to him. Do you understand why people say this doesn’t add up?” he said.

The inquest is ongoing. Officer’s other son will give evidence tomorrow.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.