The eldest half-brother of a 3-year-old boy who died in Gore has vehemently denied any involvement in an alleged "cover-up".
Coroner Alexander Ho’s inquest into the 2019 death of Lachie Jones, whose body was found in an oxidation pond, continued today at the Invercargill District Court.
This afternoon, Lachie’s half-brother Cameron Scott was in the witness box.
Mr Scott said when he first found out Lachie was missing he was not concerned as the boy would often play chase and hide.
After answering two calls from his mother Michelle Officer explaining that she could not find him, Mr Scott went to bed.
"You loved [Lachie] so much that you went to bed rather than going to assist with the search," Max Simpkins, counsel for Lachie’s father said.
He put it to Mr Scott that he knew his brother was dead earlier in the night and had tried to cover it up.
"That is a disgusting accusation Max," the witness replied.
Yesterday, Mr Simpkins put a similar proposition to Mr Scott’s brother Jonathan.
Before Lachie went missing, Mr Scott said his mother had called him to ask for help order pizza online.
Later, Ms Officer called again to ask what the police number was and Mr Scott told her "555" but later after getting advice from friends online, he texted it was "111".
Mr Simpkins suggested this was done simply to place him away from his mother’s home on January 29, 2019.
"She's rang you to organise the pizza and to speak to you about the emergency number so there can be a record that you were not at the house until much later," Mr Simpkins said.
"How dare you make something up like that," Mr Scott replied.
He admitted later in the night he smoked cannabis with his brother and a friend but could not remember where.
"We did anything to cope with the devastation of losing our little brother," he said.
Mr Scott said he loved Lachie very much but described the boy’s father Paul Jones as a drunk and a gambler.
He recalled a time when the police showed up after an incident with Paul.
"I and my mum had to throw him out of the house because he was so enraged . . . and then he yelled abuse through the window at us," Mr Scott said.
He said his little brother was adventurous and definitely capable of climbing the gates near the oxidation ponds.
"He was an awesome climber, if he had a ladder he could climb up on the roof if he really wanted to," Mr Scott said.
He said his mother was very watchful, treated her children equally and took great care of Lachie.
"There was no neglect, it was a pure accident," Mr Scott said.
He described life for his family since Lachie’s death as "extremely disruptive".
Neighbour says she heard Lachie the night he died
Earlier, A neighbour who helped search for Lachie confirmed the boy’s mother said "he’s done me a favour" after he died.
This morning Deborah Thurston, neighbour and friend of Lachie's mother Michelle Officer, remained in the witness box after she began giving evidence yesterday.
She said the toddler was blood-related to her and they had a special bond.
"He was a happy wee boy, funny wee boy. Usually quite entertaining," Ms Thurston said.
Lachie’s parents had previously separated, and after their son died tensions were high, the court heard.
Ms Thurston said on one occasion as Ms Officer was walking away from a conversation she said Lachie had "done me a favour".
"She was frustrated, in shock, frustrated with [Lachie's father] Paul," Ms Thurston explained.
The witness believed Ms Officer said it because the boy's death would mean she would have less to do with Mr Jones.
On the evening January 29, 2019, Lachie and his mother popped into Ms Thurston’s house.
Ms Thurston said she saw Ms Officer, but could only hear Lachie - however she was sure he was there.
"And then the next thing she said ‘s*** he’s gone again’ and Michelle left," Ms Thurston said.
Later when Lachie went missing, the witness helped search the neighbourhood but initially they stopped at the gates in front of the oxidation ponds.
"As a little boy I thought ‘nah he wouldn’t have got over that," the witness said.
When Max Simpkins, counsel for Lachie’s father Paul, was questioning Ms Thurston he reminded her that she made a call to a detective inspector.
She explained she had been thinking about the night Lachie died and she remembered finding a cannabis cigarette butt in Ms Officer’s garage, which the two women smoked.
"I lit the butt and we both had a very small puff of it," Ms Thurston said on the phone call.
She explained she later called the detective back and said she must have been wrong as she was working for a psychologist at the time so was not using cannabis.
Mr Simpkins also pointed out inconsistencies between Ms Thurston’s evidence yesterday and her initial police statements.
The witness said at the time she did not understand how important her statements would ultimately become.
"I didn't realise this was going to become such an intense situation," Ms Thurston said.
"Parts of the night are not things I really want to remember."
When questioned by counsel for Ms Officer, Beatrix Woodhouse, the witness described Ms Officer as "a good mum".
"She was always there for him . . . if you saw Michelle you saw Lachie," Ms Thurston said.
This afternoon another neighbour Maxine Cartwright was in the witness box.
She initially told police she saw a "little person" wearing a high-vis jacket and a police hat run past the window at her neighbour's house where she was.
Ms Cartwright, who was 14 at the time, told the court that her memory of the night was now quite unclear.
The witness admitted to Mr Simpkins that she was initially confused about who she saw and that it could have been a different neighbour.
She said because she only got quick glimpses of the child, what she said in her statement could have been influenced by what other people said about what Lachie was wearing.
"I believe that could've definitely happened. The discussion with others could have altered my statement at the time," Ms Cartrwright said.
This afternoon, one of Lachie’s half-brothers Cameron Scott will give evidence.
