Robin Bates, the lawyer representing the police, goes head to head with former forensic detective Karen Smith.

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Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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In today’s episode, Staged As An Accident, Karen Smith details timelines, distances, witness statements and the 111 call, and explains how she reached her conclusion that Lachie’s death was staged to look like an accident. 

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On the last day of phase one of the inquest, Detective Inspector Stu Harvey is cross examined about witness statements that weren’t taken, the reliability of eyewitness identifications, and any lessons he gleaned from the reinvestigation. Coroner Ho then wraps up the inquest for now. 

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The final witness to appear for this first phase of the inquest is the man who was in charge of the reinvestigation into Lachie’s death, Detective Inspector Stu Harvey.

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The police dog handler who found Lachie with his dog Gee gives his evidence in closed court.

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Bill Little, who’s been in the job for more than 30 years, sets the record straight about process, protocol and who is responsible for what. 

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The pathologist who conducted the post mortem on Lachie tells the inquest they didn’t even have the right equipment to do pediatric autopsies in Southland. 

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A former police officer who worked under Senior Sergeant Cynthia Fairley refutes her assertion that he was in charge of the investigation into Lachie’s death.

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The pressure is on to find out who was responsible, who was in charge, and who turned around the autopsy. 

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Senior Sergeant Cynthia Fairley, the police officer at the centre of the case, is in the witness box. 

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The first of the police officers scheduled to appear at the inquest takes to the witness stand, and we begin to hear about the confusion over who was in charge of the investigation into Lachie's death.

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The sighting of a mysterious shirtless man, what one of Lachie's preschool teachers remembers about him, and the two paramedics who worked on the little boy's lifeless body all feature in this collection of shorter witness testimonies.

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Karen Smith lays out the system failures, biases and exactly what went wrong with the investigation into Lachie’s death - and questions why the NZ police are so obstinate in this case.

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The police’s lawyer tackles Paul about making claims that Michelle and her sons had something to do with Lachie’s death.

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Paul is questioned about his relationship with Michelle and the events on the day and night leading up to Lachie’s death.

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You could have heard a pin drop in courtroom four when a new witness was asked why he thought something he saw could relate to the death of Lachie Jones.

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Kimberley Rogers, who says she was friends with Michelle Officer for 17 years, tells the inquest Michelle kept changing her story about Lachie running away. 

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The neighbours from the street who searched for Lachie, and the friends who were there that night, all take the stand. 

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The police hat, the yellow vest, who saw what, and what was accurate?

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Lachie's other brother tells the inquest about his family relationships, and his movements on January 29, 2019. You can also click here to see photos of the gate and fence to the sewage oxidation ponds on our Instagram.

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Hearing but not seeing Lachie, and the surprise on the 111 call.

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We hear from Lachie's brother for the first time as he is cross-examined about what happened that day and night.

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In this special bonus epsiode, Melanie Reid discusses the first days of the inquest with colleague Bonnie Sumner.

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A forensic pathologist and a retired forensic detective, both Americans, give evidence in the Invercargill courtroom and fiercely defend their views – one emphatic Lachie drowned, the other who says his death was staged.

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Timings, layouts and lines of sight are all explored – and questions are raised about dope smoking.

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On day two of the inquest, Lachie’s mother goes head to head with Paul Jones’ lawyer as he puts it to her that she covered up her son’s death.

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The questioning of Lachie’s mother continues with a forensic examination of the day her son died.  

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Emotional scenes play out in the Invercargill courthouse on day one of the coronial inquest, when Lachie’s mother is cross examined by Paul Jones’ lawyer.

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From Melanie Reid Investigates comes the brand new season of The Boy in the Water. Listen as we follow the coronial inquest into the death of three-and-a-half year old Lachlan Jones, whose lifeless body was found face up in a sewage oxidation pond in the small town of Gore in January 2019.

We have been covering this case for more than four years now. In Season One we revealed multiple flaws in the police investigation and uncovered new evidence that cast serious doubt about the circumstances surrounding Lachie’s death. Then, in August 2023, the coroner announced he would be holding an inquest into Lachie’s death.

In Season Two, we take you directly inside the courtroom during the inquest to hear the voices and evidence of the key people involved in this gripping case.

Melanie and her team will be travelling to Invercargill at the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island to cover the three-week inquest in May 2024, followed by another two weeks in August. 

Season Two of The Boy In The Water is coming soon to newsroom.co.nz and wherever you get your podcasts.

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We reveal an important update from the coroner’s office, plus a radio interview with Melanie Reid on The Detail.

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Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Watch the video version of The American Detective, read about the police review into the case, and listen to our award-winning podcast Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me.

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Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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In the astonishing season finale, a ‘big gun’ US retired forensic detective is on the case - and she’s not going to stop until she finds the truth.

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Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Lachie’s graveside birthday celebration, and an ex-police officer reveals the culture of bullying and burnout at the Gore police station.

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Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Inside the small town Gore courtroom - the disappointment, the heartache and Paul Jones tells it like it is.

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For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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The controversy steps up a notch when a Wellington based forensic pathologist enters the frame and is intractable on Lachie’s cause of death.

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Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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The twists and turns continue when we hear the police statements of Lachie’s mother, brother and a teenager who lived on the street.

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For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Mysterious and tragic circumstances surround the night Lachie’s body was found.

Sign up to DELVE+ here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Volatile relationships and police call-outs - what was going on leading up to Lachie’s death?

Sign up to DELVE+ here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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The mystery surrounding the death of Lachie Jones deepens after our team sends lung tissue samples to an international forensic pathologist.

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For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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The whole town gets drawn into the case as the local council is charged in relation to Lachie's death.

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For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Officials jump to an early and dubious conclusion when a three-year-old boy's body is found floating in a town's sewage ponds.

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For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning Newsroom Investigates editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Newsroom’s electrifying new podcast takes you inside a small town harbouring a big mystery. After the lifeless body of three-year-old Lachie Jones is found floating in an oxidation pond in the Southland town of Gore, police rule his death a tragic accident. But nothing is what it seems. Newsroom’s investigations editor Melanie Reid has spent three years covering this case, revealing multiple flaws in the police investigation and uncovering new evidence that casts serious doubt about the circumstances surrounding Lachie’s death. In The Boy in the Water, Reid unravels the case – and the secrets – in an attempt to find out what really happened to little Lachie Jones. The Boy In The Water is coming soon to newsroom.co.nz and wherever you get your podcasts.

Sign up to DELVE+ here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Speculation and hypothetical scenarios are thrown around the courtroom, as the absence of a forensic autopsy limits options.

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Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Dr Martin Sage, the man who says he could have and should have done the forensic autopsy on Lachie, takes the stand. He gives a rare window into the reality of forensic autopsies and we find out what he believes may or may not have happened to Lachie.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Melanie Reid and her team make their way south for the second phase of the inquest, and on the first day a police dog expert is asked that if Lachie walked out to the ponds, why did the police dog not pick up his scent until 30 metres out?

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Following a tip-off, Melanie Reid heads south and gets the Facebook messages, the phone and the explosive interview.

The Boy in the Water is now part of our new investigative podcast channel, DELVE. 

Melanie Reid Investigates will be releasing gripping, in-depth podcasts on DELVE throughout the year.

If you would like to support our work:

Sign up to DELVE+ here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free. Check your email for sign-up instructions.

For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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US-based Andrea Zaferes, who has investigated thousands of ‘body found in water’ cases, tells Melanie Reid what stacks up and what doesn’t when investigating suspected drownings. 

You can also watch a short video of Andrea explaining the positions bodies are commonly found in when they are in water, on our Facebook page and our Instagram page. 

Sign up to DELVE+ here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

For Apple Podcasts listeners, sign up to DELVE+ by simply clicking the subscribe banner on the DELVE page and follow the prompts.

Discover more from Melanie Reid Investigates at Newsroom.co.nz

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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Robin Bates, lawyer for the police, goes into full Crown prosecutor mode, as he tries to dent the findings, methodology and conclusion in former forensic detective Karen Smith’s report.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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DELVE presents the new in-depth podcast from Melanie Reid Investigates about a controversial medical diagnosis from a New Zealand hospital and the cascade of events that followed. 

A baby taken, a mother jailed, a couple forced apart and facing deportation without their daughter. 

Crushed by the weight of multiple government departments working in lockstep, what happens when the dream of a new country becomes an unimaginable nightmare? 

In this new investigation, Melanie Reid and her team take the x-rays that were used to convict a young mother and put them before international experts, who tell us this case is just the tip of the iceberg of a factitious medical phenomenon leading to injustice around the globe.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to all three seasons of our award-winning The Boy in the Water podcast, all ad-free.

Fractured is presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

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In today’s episode, The Depot, three months after giving evidence in the first phase of the inquest, Michelle Officer presents a new sworn statement that changes her account of her movements at the depot that afternoon, but a contractor who works from the same depot says Lachie and his mother weren’t there.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus material, all ad-free.

Presented by award-winning investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.