Coroner Heather McKenzie's inquest into the 19-year-old's death began in Dunedin today.
Miss Crestani died in a collision in a stairwell at a flat party in 2019 and since then her parents Elspeth McMillan and Bede Crestani have become activists for safe student behavior in Dunedin.
In 2019, the University of Otago unveiled the Sophia Charter: “a shared commitment to the North Dunedin community”.
Coroner McKenzie acknowledged the work Miss Crestani's parents had done after her death.
“You have found the energy and dedication to do this, alongside your incalculable grief and loss,” said coroner McKenzie.
“You have opened an important dialogue and achieved change in Dunedin's student culture.”
The coroner assured Miss Crestani's parents that their daughter would be at the center of the inquest.
“A loved one is at the heart of why we are all here,” said Coroner McKenzie.
“I will certainly not lose sight of Sophia during this inquest.”
Mr Crestani said he had received an abundance of evidence, including 160 police interviews with students.
“We thought it was a tragic accident. It took a while for us to understand that this was not the case. It was a set of events that had been brewing in this city for some time,” Mr. Crestani said.
“This is a community problem and everyone needs to change it.”
Both parents explained that they were shocked by the students' behavior when they first visited Dunedin.
“[Locals] had become somewhat immune to it. . . and didn't see the danger,” Ms McMillan said.
“It took a death, unfortunately for us Sophia's death, to wake them up.”
Videos of the party and audio of 911 calls were played in court.
They revealed that an “atmosphere of panic developed” as the flat known as “The Manor” became increasingly overcrowded.
The court heard it would be the last party before the exams and 400 people had been invited on Facebook.
Ms McMillan and Mr Crestani explained that it had been difficult waiting more than four years for the inquest.
“We miss her every moment of every day,” Mrs McMillan said.
“She ended up crushed and suffocated to death on the dirty floor of a filthy student dormitory… a horrible, avoidable and completely unnecessary way to die.”
“We hope that what happened becomes clearer … and that improvements are made,” Crestani said.
“Once we deal with the past, we can go back to the future.”
The inquest is expected to last five days and will hear from students from the party, police and Dunedin City Council staff.