Coroner Alexander Ho's inquest into the 2019 death of Lachie Jones has entered its second week and continued in Invercargill this morning.
Police quickly concluded the boy had drowned after being found face up in a Gore oxidation pond and today Detective Sergeant Dave Kennelly confirmed the investigation should have been completed more carefully.
The witness explained to the court that he was first called to the scene as a member of the search and rescue team, but on the way he discovered that Lachie was dead.
He was then present in his capacity as a criminal investigation officer (CIB).
He said he marked the scene but did not post a scene guard.
“I had known there were accusations [of foul play]”I would absolutely have assigned a scene guard,” Detective Kennelly said.
The witness understood that other people had entered the area to search for Lachie so the scene would have been contaminated.
They locked the gate and thought that was “enough for the night.”
Det Sgt Kennelly said he took into account the fact that Lachie was found face up and had no marks on his feet, but said he was not concerned about that.
Counsel assisting the coroner Simon Mount, QC, explained that the boy was also described as having bent knees.
“If you've ever encountered a drowning [case] with a posture like that?” asked Mr. Mount.
“No,” Sergeant Kennelly replied.
“That night, given the circumstances, it was lopsided [towards] explainable, certainly in my eyes,” he said.
He told the court it was “quite possible” the 3-year-old had traveled to the oxidation ponds alone.
“We were confident he had been seen some distance from his home.”
Det Sergeant Kennelly explained that he had been told during a briefing that a witness had seen a small person in high visibility on the street where the ponds were located.
He said that based on the “unusual” and “distinctive” clothing the boy was wearing, he felt he could rely on that identification.
He was no longer involved in the case after 1.45am the morning after Lachie's death and so was not consulted as to whether a forensic post-mortem was necessary.
Det Sgt Kennelly agreed it was now clear this had been necessary.
The investigation will continue this afternoon.