Nearly two years after the death of Lower Hutt toddler Baby Ru, RNZ can reveal police have taken a significant step towards solving the case that shocked the nation. National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood reports.
The little boy was just three days away from celebrating his second birthday when he suffered blunt force trauma so severe it fractured his skull and led to his death.
Baby Ru, officially named Nga Reo Te Huatahi Reremoana Ahipene-Wall, died at Hutt Hospital on October 22 2023.
Police have previously said there are three people of interest, Rosie Morunga, her partner Dylan Ross, and the child's mother, Storm Wall, who were all living at the same Poole Street house with Ru.
Neither Morunga nor Ross have spoken to the media since the homicide investigation began.
RNZ can now reveal police have made significant progress in their investigation, dubbed Operation Huia.
Speaking to RNZ, the officer in charge of the case Wellington District Crime Manager Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said police were assessing the evidence gathered during the investigation to determine criminal culpability.
Speaking exclusively to RNZ, Wall - who has repeatedly denied being involved in her son's death - says all she wants is justice for her son.
She says she has been longing for the moment she can drive to the cemetery and tell her son that charges have been laid.
"I'd just be like 'finally my love'... it would just be a celebration. Finally getting justice."
Wall has previously spoken at length with RNZ about what she alleges happened to her son and who she claims killed him.
RNZ is unable to report what she alleges happened, but she says that day constantly plays in her mind.
"It's a day that I lost my heart, basically I just lost everything... I will never be full capacity, my smile will never be 100%. I will never forget," she says.
"It's like your life flashes before your eyes... It's like darkness concave like and all you could see was just him and trying to get that darkness away while you're trying to do CPR and everything you know trying to escape from that surrounding and try and save him, that was the hardest. It was a living hell."
The lead detective told 1News that the investigation team was still searching for evidence. (Source: 1News)
Asked about being labelled a person of interest in her son's death for almost two years, Wall says she is not bothered by public opinion.
"I'm innocent, so therefore I don't carry a burden... So in reality, I don't care about the public eye. I just care about his justice."
She says she is frustrated no charges have been laid to date, but is "grateful" police are "doing as much as they can".
Wall has a message for those who know what happened to her son.
"I just want them to come forward... I just want justice to be there for my son. That's all. I just want them to talk, talk, talk…"
For Wall, the past two years had been a "rollercoaster of emotions", coming to terms with her son's killing.
"He's forever going to be the handsome baby of our family," she says.
Wall says it hurts to think about the what-ifs, and admits she finds it hard seeing other parents playing with their children and wishing her little boy was still here.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including spring snow closes roads in the south, a strong quake crumbles buildings in the Philippines, and why the FBI director’s gifts to NZ officials had to be destroyed. (Source: 1News)
Ru would be four later this month. In a year he would be getting ready to go to school.
Wall says she would have been like most mums, scared of the idea of sending their child to school.
"You don't want to see a baby grow up too fast."
Tragically, the two-year anniversary of Baby Ru's death will mean he has been dead longer than he was alive. A stark reminder of just how defenceless and innocent the toddler was.
As the family has done the past couple of years they will have a birthday for Ru.
"I always have his presence here... even though he's not here physically, he's still here within spirit. So, I just celebrate as if he's still here."
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