Coroner Alexander Ho’s inquest into the 2019 death of the 3-year-old continued this afternoon at the Invercargill District Court.
Police quickly concluded the boy had tragically drowned after he was found over a kilometre away from his home face up in a sewage pond.
Dave McKewen was working as an animal control officer for the Gore District Council at the time.
He told the court, in the afternoon of January 29, 2019 he had gone to the dog pound which was near the oxidation ponds.
As he left through the gates, he saw three people about 300 metres away.
He explained one was very small and wearing a high-vis vest and he thought the other two were teenagers based on their size.
“After I found out someone had died in the area, the next day I wrote in my work diary what I had seen,” Mr McKewen said.
He said he no longer had the notebook which would have included more detail about the people he saw.
Robin Bates counsel for police asked why he never came forward with the information if he believed it was significant.
The witness said he was waiting for police to ask him to make a statement and he would have had to ask senior management before he gave the information to police.
Mr McKewen explained to counsel assisting the coroner Simon Mount KC that he raised what he saw in an unrelated meeting, but never specifically requested to give the information to police.
He said he did not do that because he was overwhelmed by his workload at the time.
“I always thought it was significant,” the witness told Mr Mount.
“Right from the day we found out how Mr Jones died.”
“Were you thinking in your mind that the little person you saw… might've been Lachie Jones?” Mr Mount asked.
“Could've been,” Mr McKewen replied.
When Mr Mount asked the witness why he did not come forward once he left the council in 2020 he said: “my life moved on”.
Mr McKewen said he threw out the notebook in the process of moving house.
He said he had spoken to his wife and colleagues about what he saw but did not come forward with the information until Max Simpkins, counsel for Lachie’s father Paul Jones, asked him about it.
Mother's account "bizarre"
A former friend has described Lachie Jones’ mother’s recount of events on the night her son went missing as “bizarre”.
Coroner Alexander Ho’s inquest into the 2019 death of Lachie Jones continued this morning at the Invercargill courthouse.
Police swiftly concluded the toddler had drowned after he was found face up in a council sewage pond in Gore.
Kimberley Rogers said she was best friends with Lachie’s mother Michelle Officer and knew her for 17 years.
The witness said after Lachie’s death Ms Officer would speak to her about the night he disappeared.
“Something’s not adding up right, because she's now telling me a different circumstance,” Ms Rogers said.
She told the inquest Ms Officer was “chopping and changing” her version of events.
Ms Rogers said Lachie’s mother talked about her son getting away from her on the night.
“Well that's really bizarre because she was fit and strong enough to keep up with that little man. . . it does not make any sense at all,” Ms Rogers recalled thinking at the time.
She said following Lachie’s death she only saw Ms Officer become upset when Lachie’s coffin was lowered.
“I didn't really see any tears or any grief,” Ms Rogers said.
The witness explained that three weeks after the toddler’s death she cut ties with Ms Officer “because of her lies”.
She said in the months before Lachie’s death she noticed his personality and behaviour had “shifted” and she said he had become “quite withdrawn”.
Ms Rogers said she wondered if it was because of his parents’ relationship breakdown.
She told police she had had conversations with Lachie since his death in a spiritual capacity.
“He was a beautiful little boy. He was so bright, he was so full of life,” Ms Rogers said.
She said while she never saw Lachie run away from his parents, he was fast.
“You definitely had to watch him,” she said.
Suggestions 'disgusting'
A long-time friend of Lachie Jones’ half-brothers described suggestions he was involved in covering up the boy's death as "disgusting".
Mr Vigers said in 2019 he had known the family for more than 10 years.
Max Simpkins, counsel for Lachie’s father Paul Jones, asked the witness if he was the kind of person to stop what he was doing and help Jonathan Scott if he needed a favour.
"Yes absolutely," the witness replied.
"Johnny needed a hand that day because his brother had tragically lost his life and I'm suggesting that you already knew Lachie was deceased," Mr Simpkins said.
"You can suggest anything you want mate, it doesn’t make it true," Mr Vigers said.
Mr Simpkins asked the witness if he helped Jonathan Scott dispose of Lachie’s body that evening.
"You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that, it’s disgusting," the witness responded.
Mr Simpkins asked if the witness could tell the court "the real story" of what happened to the toddler.
"Lachie went on an adventure and he found himself in trouble, just like little kids do," he said.
He said he first knew of Lachie’s disappearance that evening when Kimberley Marshall, a neighbour who was searching, asked if he had seen a small blonde boy.
Mr Vigers asked if they were looking for Lachie.
The witness said while he was good friends with the family, he only went to the home when Lachie’s father Paul Jones was not there.
"I would only go there if Paul wasn’t there because he was really scary to be around," the witness said.
Mr Vigers denied he had been conspiring with others to paint a bad picture of Mr Jones.
Earlier today, the court heard from more neighbours including Tanya Ogilvy who joined fellow resident Deborah Thurston in the search for Lachie.
She said she heard Ms Thurston and Lachie’s mother Michelle Officer calling out the boy’s name.
The witness said she joined Ms Thurston and they walked to the gate at the oxidation ponds where they saw a dog barking.
"Debbie said [Lachie] wouldn't be down this way because he didn't like dogs," Ms Ogilvy said.
Multiple other witnesses have been questioned about animals they saw near the pond, but Ms Ogilvy is the only one that has mentioned a dog.
Ms Thurston did not give evidence about a dog but said she did not think the little boy would have gone into the area where the ponds were because the gates were too high.
The inquest will continue this afternoon.
