Melanie Reid

3 weeks ago | observer.co.uk | Melanie Reid

The case of the Sycamore Gap tree has become a perfect microcosm of today’s politics If anyone wondered why Reform are doing well, they need look no further than the sentimental hype and faux outrage gushing from every media and social outlet about the felled Sycamore Gap tree. Here, in a sad little tale, is the perfect microcosm of today’s politics, where one half of the country despises the other half for their attitudes.

2 months ago | newsroom.co.nz | Melanie Reid |Bonnie Sumner

A US obstetrician-gynaecologist has cast serious doubt on a high-profile child abuse conviction, asserting the main injuries sustained by the baby were the result of trauma suffered during labour and delivery, not parental abuse. Concerned about her excessive crying, the eight-week-old baby’s parents took her to their GP where she was transferred to Starship Children’s Hospital with suspected meningitis.

Aug 17, 2024 | newsroom.co.nz | Bonnie Sumner |Melanie Reid

In the end, the five-week inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones boiled down to two factors: science and circumstances. The first phase of the inquest was held in May. Listeners to Newsroom’s DELVE podcast The Boy in the Water will know all about it: wild accusations, tears, high courtroom drama. Lachie’s parents both cried in the dock.

Aug 1, 2024 | newsroom.co.nz | Bonnie Sumner |Melanie Reid

During the gap between coronial inquest hearings into the death of Gore three-year-old Lachlan Jones, new information has emerged and been examined by police. The toddler’s body was found floating face up in an oxidation pond on the outskirts of Gore by a police dog and its handler on a hot summer’s night in January 2019. Police ruled his death an accident and closed the case, concluding Lachie had walked 1.2km from his house, climbed a fence, fell in to the pond and drowned.

Apr 30, 2024 | newsroom.co.nz | Melanie Reid |Bonnie Sumner

Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water launches today, which is covering the inquest as it unfolds.