Police have confirmed they will undertake a third investigation into the 2019 death of three-year-old Lachie Jones, following new findings released by the coroner.
Lachie was found deceased in a Gore oxidation pond in January 2019, and questions have lingered for years over the circumstances surrounding his death.
Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson said Police will carefully consider the coroner’s direction and commit the necessary resources to complete the new inquiry with urgency. He acknowledged the ongoing trauma experienced by Lachie’s family and the wider Gore community, and paid tribute to members of the public who joined the search on the night Lachie went missing.
Johnson also reiterated that Police failed to meet their own standards during the initial investigation.
In response to the tragedy, a national policy now requires the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) to be consulted for all deaths of infants and children, with CIB oversight mandated for any case involving a child under 10.
In his findings Coroner Alexander Ho cited serious concerns about the initial police conclusion that the three-year-old drowned accidentally.
The Coroner criticised the original investigation and acknowledged that key questions remain unresolved.
While he ruled out the boy’s mother as causing direct harm and found no evidence implicating Lachie’s eldest half-brother, he rejected the reliability of another half-brother’s account. The reinvestigation, Ho stressed, does not imply guilt but aims to resolve lingering uncertainties.
