Police have named a 19-month-old boy killed when a stove fell on him but have slammed a media organisation for naming him early and incorrectly.
Kobi George Collier of Te Aroha in Waikato was crushed when the freestanding stove fell forward as he tried to reach another object on Sunday morning.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Whitehead of Waikato police said a post-mortem examination had been completed and the results given to both police and the coroner.
"The preliminary post-mortem results appear consistent with the circumstances outlined to our investigators by people in the house at the time Kobi died and these results have not altered the focus of our investigation.
"There remains a number of people we still need to fully interview or speak to and the timing of these interviews will be determined by the current situation as many of these people had a close association with Kobi and his family.''
A scene examination of the house was completed yesterday and police were now carrying out a forensic examination of the stove, including stability testing.
Police also implored media agencies to put compassion ahead of commercial interests after the child's family were caused further anguish by the premature wrong naming of the boy.
Mr Whitehead said that in its desire to be first with the story, one news organisation had named the boy as Toby.
"It is indeed unfortunate that long-standing protocols of not publishing a deceased person's name until confirmation has been provided by police were ignored.
"To that end, in consultation with the family we are asking the various organisations to in future, hold back from such activity to hopefully avoid other families being unnecessarily upset as has occurred today.''
By this evening, the news organisation was still carrying a story on its website containing the incorrect name.
- Herald Online
