Unsolved Auckland baby homicide: Bugged phone calls show family agreeing not to talk to police in cold case

Detectives intercepted phone calls where relatives agreed not to talk to police before giving misleading statements. Then prosecutors had to withdraw the only charge laid in the cold case. George Block reports.

More than two and a half years have passed since Sofia Taueki-Jackson, 14 months, suffered unsurvivable head injuries during a gathering at her mother’s home in Auckland on May 23, 2020.

New details on the night she was killed at the home in Clover Park have emerged in a document obtained by the Herald.

It reveals the evidential difficulties that led prosecutors to abandon a charge of obstructing justice, laid by police against a relative of Sofia’s based on phone calls intercepted by investigators.

No one has been charged in relation to her death and some family members close to her have been uncooperative with police.

Other members of her wider whānau have cooperated, detectives have said.

The homicide investigation into her death, Operation Asbury, remains ongoing with seven staff dedicated to the inquiry, police say.

“Although a number have spoken to police, there are key members of the immediate whānau who were present but are refusing to assist the investigation,” said Counties Manukau Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Va’aelua.

Sofia Taueki-Jackson died in May 2020 in Clover Park, Auckland, and a homicide investigation was launched. Photo / Dean Purcell

A week before Christmas 2020 police charged a woman with attempting to obstruct the course of justice.

She is a relative of Sofia who was at the Flat Bush Rd home on the night the baby died.

The woman pleaded not guilty and her case was headed to trial.

But mid-way through 2021 the Crown told the Manukau District Court it could not proceed with the prosecution.

A memo from Crown prosecutor Jessie Fenton, acting for Manukau Crown Solicitor Natalie Walker, was released to the Herald after a judge granted an application to view the document.

It showed the Crown did not believe there was enough evidence to proceed with the charge of conspiring to obstruct the court of justice, on the available evidence.

The charge, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, arose from information gleaned by police during their investigation into Sofia’s death.

“It predominantly relates to four (intercepted) phone conversations that the defendant had with friends and family in the days and months following Sofia’s death, as well as to three statements she gave to Police,” the Crown memo said.

The prosecutors said the evidence showed the woman and her family agreed not to give a statement to police about how Sofia died.

Her statements to police were inconsistent with themselves and the statements of other witnesses, and intentionally left out information, the Crown said.

Sofia Taueki-Jackson died aged 14 months after suffering a head injury at her mother's home on May 23, 2020. Her father Owen Jackson posted this picture to social media ahead of the first anniversary of her death.

However, there was insufficient evidence for an obstructing justice charge to be laid, or indeed any charge, in the Crown’s view.

“The defendant’s agreement with her family not to provide a statement fell short of constituting a conspiracy to commit a crime — refusing to give a statement to police is not a criminal offence,” the prosecutor wrote.

“In any event, by going on to actually speak with police, the defendant departed from any family agreement not to provide a statement.”

The statements she provided in the end were not demonstrably false, the Crown said.

“As the Crown is not currently in a position to prove with specificity what occurred on the day of Sofia’s death, it cannot establish the extent to which the defendant’s statements are inaccurate or untrue.”

As a result of the evidential difficulties, the Crown said the first test for prosecution in the Solicitor General’s guidelines - namely that the evidence available should provide a reasonable chance of conviction - was not met.

The memo invited the court to dismiss the charge.

Information in the document also confirms for the first time who was at the Kāinga Ora home on the night Sofia suffered the fatal injury.

Those present were Sofia’s mother Phyllis Taueki, her father Owen Jackson, his nephew Joshua Newton and the woman charged with obstructing justice and her partner, who cannot be named as the woman charged was granted permanent name suppression.

Jackson, who is no longer with Taueki, did not respond to a request for comment from the Herald made via a friend.

No one has yet been held account for the death of Sofia Taueki-Jackson in May 2020.

In the years since Sofia’s death he has repeatedly posted on social media about Sofia, expressing his anger and grief.

On the eve of the second anniversary of her death, he expressed his frustration that no one had been held to account and posted a photo of the infant.

“Time for the murderer to own up for their actions for baby girl my bro,” a friend of Jackson’s wrote.

“The c***s should’ve owned up when it happened,” Jackson replied.

Phyllis Taueki has rebuffed or not responded to several requests for comment over the years. The other three in the house could not be reached for comment.

A picture of baby Sofia posted by Owen on the second anniversary of her death. Photo / Supplied

Counties Manukau Detective Inspector Shaun Vickerssaid the investigation was still very much active and ongoing. Police declined to put anyone involved in the investigation up for an interview.

“Since her death, police have constantly had a team of detectives working on Operation Asbury,” Vickers said.

“There is still a dedicated team of seven investigators who continue to make progress even within the last six weeks.”

He said he could not disclose what exact progress the investigation had made but said police continued to appeal to those with information to come forward.

“We know that there are individuals who know the truth and we urge them to do what is right by Sofia, and make contact with us.

“No matter how much time passes, police remain committed to seeking justice for Sofia and holding to account the person or persons responsible for her death.

“We are confident that slowly but surely we will resolve this case.”