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Former FBI forensic detective Karen Smith has reviewed the police evidence into the death of three-year-old Lachie Jones in Gore.
A retired FBI forensic detective from the United States has spent months reviewing the case files of the two investigations police carried out into the death of a Gore toddler.
Lachie Jones was found dead in the Gore District Council’s wastewater ponds on the night of February 29, 2019.
Police quickly concluded he had walked the 1.2km from his mother’s house, through scrubby land and climbed a fence and drowned, but his father Paul has always maintained his death was suspicious because there were no marks on Lachie’s body, and no fluid was found in his lungs.
Karen Smith, a forensic investigator, has conducted 500 death investigations and worked 20,000 other cases ranging from burglaries to multiple shootings and police-involved homicides. She has testified in over 100 trials, including 13 death penalty cases.
She said she has provided more than 200 pages of evidence to the coroner in charge of Lachie’s case, and believes forensic evidence will lead to a cause of death being determined.
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Lachie Jones’ body was found in Gore’s wastewater ponds in January 2019. He was three years old when he died. (File photo)
In her opinion, Gore police did an ‘’appalling job” in their investigation into the death.
“Lachie Jones loved the police. He was wearing his police uniform when he died. The police let him down,” she said.
Smith said the fact the autopsy found no water in Lachie’s lungs and the fact that he was found floating face up should have raised red flags to police on the night he was found.
“With any death, you treat it like it’s a homicide until the science proves it’s not one,” she said.
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Paul Jones with his son Lachie as a toddler. (File photo)
On the night Lachie died, the scene was not secured by police.
“They put a stick in the pond to show where he was found,” she said. “A stick? That’s it?”
Last month, police admitted they ‘missed some steps’ in the investigation into the death.
Southern police district commander Paul Basham has requested a national investigations overview of police’s handling of the investigation into the death of Lachie Jones in 2019.
Smith became involved with the case after a friend in New Zealand contacted her about it, and she contacted Lachie’s father.
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The Gore District Council oxidation ponds. Lachie’s body was found in the top right-hand corner. (File photo)
She has an agreement with the Coroner’s office that she can review the files from the two investigations police have carried out into the death and provide evidence to be reviewed, but she is bound by a confidentiality agreement which means she cannot discuss her findings.
That means Jones, who has spent four years searching for answers about how his son died, does not know what Smith’s theory about the death is.
“It’s a massive validation for me that she’s found issues with the police investigation,” Jones said.
Last month, a spokesperson said police were well aware of continued reporting and concerns raised by some parties about the investigation and reinvestigation of the case.
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Paul Jones speaks about police admitting they made mistakes in their investigation of his son’s death.
“We are mindful that every investigation and public commentary has an impact on the families, particularly Lachie’s mum, with whom he lived,” the spokesperson said.
“Reports of claims made by an overseas observer only serve to heighten his family’s grief.”
The case is now being reviewed by Coroner Ho, who announced last week that an inquest into the death would be held.
Smith said she would travel to New Zealand for it ‘’if she was needed”.
