DELVE

The NZ police investigation ramps up and, with their child taken, the couple have their house bugged, their phones tapped and just as they think it can’t get any worse…it does. *Listen to the first three episodes free. If you want to hear today’s Episode 4 right away, become a subscriber to DELVE+. DELVE+ subscribers get Early Release, Ad Free listening.* Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access...

Melanie and Bonnie meet the young couple at the centre of this case and they begin to unravel the complex cascade of events that led to a young mother being accused, convicted and jailed for two and a half years - and the daunting fight that lies ahead. *If you want to hear Episode 3 as soon as it's released, become a subscriber to DELVE+* Sign up to DELVE+ ...

What happens when the dream country, New Zealand, becomes a living hell? The Boy in the Water creator, multi-award-winning journalist Melanie Reid, is in the middle of another story when she receives an email that causes her to drop everything and get on a plane. After a year of extensive investigations, we now bring you that case. Sign up to DELVE+  to get early access to new episodes and re...

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 whe...

On the final day of the coronial inquest into the death of three-year-old Lachie Jones, his mother has a statement read out in court, Lachie’s father addresses the Coroner and throws more shade on the police investigations - and the lawyers play their final cards for and against an accidental drowning. We also introduce our scorching, brand new podcast investigation on DELVE, coming very soon...

Jonathan appears via videolink from his new home in Australia to respond to allegations he threw his little brother Lachie in the pond, and the young man at the centre of the Facebook messages gets riled up during cross examination. 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...

Things get heated in court when the young woman at the centre of the messages that allege Lachie’s brother threw him in the pond testifies at the inquest - and she fires back at attempts to question her motive and undermine her evidence. 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 Me...

A doctor from Starship Children’s Hospital is questioned on all the big mysteries in the case including that Lachie was found face up, had no water in his lungs and had no external injuries. You can see an image of a cross section of the pond on our  Facebook page  and our  Instagram page .  Sign up to DELVE+  to get early access to new episodes and receive exclusive bonus...

As the line-up of experts continues, we go on a crash course on the inner workings of the Gore sewerage ponds, and we hear yet another opinion on whether Lachie could have made it all the way out there by himself. You can see an image of a cross section of the pond on our  Facebook page  and our  Instagram page .  Sign up to DELVE+  to get early access to new episodes and...

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 excl...

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...

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

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.  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 Rei...

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. 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...

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. 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. ...

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

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

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 investigat...

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...

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 l...

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 t...

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.   Sign up to DELVE+  here for Android and Spotify listeners to get early access to new episodes and recei...

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. 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...

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

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.  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 pa...