Missing file a one-off - police

Police believe a missing file that relates to a murdered toddler case in the 90s was a one-off occurrence.

Rotorua police are adamant a missing file in the unsolved case of a murdered Rotorua toddler is a one-off and, if new information came to light, an investigation would not be hampered.

The toddler's mother is reportedly devastated police have lost the case file, saying it adds insult to the open wound of failing to get justice for her child.

Audreana Aramakutu, 15 months, suffered a shattered skull and severe internal abdomen injuries after she was left alone with her mother Maioha Horne's boyfriend in 1994.

Jason Lee David James was charged with Audreana's murder, but was found not guilty at trial. James, who left the country almost immediately after the trial, died in 2011 in Australia, aged 37.

Ms Horne, from Rotorua, was reported by the Sunday Star-Times as saying the lost file was a fresh insult to her and her daughter. The file was discovered missing after the newspaper made an Official Information Act request to view it. Bay of Plenty crime manager Inspector Mark Loper told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday police had made every effort to find the original file. He said the fact some parts of the file could not be found after 21 years was not indicative of any wider issue.

"Police store and manage hundreds of thousands of files. Up until 2008 this was predominantly a paper-based system requiring significant storage capacity in multiple locations around New Zealand. Since 2008, files have been stored electronically and this has vastly improved the speed and efficiency with which staff can search for a file and access it.

"On any given day multiple files will be retrieved by staff for a variety of work relating to investigations, legal proceedings, reviews, audits, etc, and this occurs without issue. It is rare that a file would not be located, even given the magnitude of the system and the large number of historic paper files held by police."

Mr Loper said while it was "unfortunate" the file had not been found, police were satisfied there was sufficient information available to reconstruct the file in the unlikely event new information came to light.

"It should be noted that a trial was held in 1995, a review of the file was carried out in 1996, and police are not looking for anyone else in relation to this death."

Ms Horne could not be contacted by the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday.