Beckenridge mystery: Coroner says pair died in 2015, mother still holds hope

The disappearance of 11-year-old Mike Zhao-Beckenridge with his stepfather more than a decade ago more than likely ended in both of their deaths, according to a coroner's report released today.

But Mike's mother has refused to accept the decision and says she is still holding hope he is alive.

Mike went missing in March 2015 after he was picked up from his Invercargill school by his stepfather John Beckenridge. A week later, Beckenridge's car went off a nearly 90m cliff in Southland but when it was recovered, there were no signs of bodies inside.

Coroner Marcus Elliott's conclusion that both died was announced today following a hearing in 2023, held to determine whether an inquest should be held into the Southland pair's case.

His report states: "I have concluded that it is more likely than not that, at some point after 1.45pm on 20 March 2015, Mr Beckenridge drove his vehicle off the cliff. Mike was in the vehicle.

"Mr Beckenrdige and Mike died due to the injuries they sustained when the vehicle crashed into the sea. Their bodies were washed away and have not been found."

But Mike's mother, Fiona Lu, maintains her son, who would be 22 now, is still alive.

Private Investigator for the family Mark Templeman, said: " I'm very disappointed for Mike's family, in particular Mike's mother. She's had a very traumatic 11 years since Mike went missing and has maintained the belief throughout that time that he's still alive."

He said the coroner conducted a very fair and thorough process, giving them the opportunity to present witnesses of their own, but he says the findings won't bring Lu any form of closure.

"I can understand how the coroner reached the decision he did," he said. "In saying that I would not be surprised if Mike turned up one day alive and well."

Templeman continues to investigate new leads from the public, including one from just six weeks ago, and encourages others to come forward with any possible sightings.

He shared a special message Lu hopes will somehow reach her son: "Mike, son, I know you are out there. I love you, I miss you, and I hope and pray you will get in touch with me one day, only me. Remember son, you are not a criminal don't be scared."

Following the release of the report, Detective Inspector Stu Harvey said: "Police acknowledge the coroner’s decision in relation to the disappearance of John Beckenridge and Mike Zhao-Beckenridge.

"The coroner has ultimately reached the same conclusion as the police investigation. We know this outcome will be difficult for members of Mike and John’s families, some of whom have held onto hope that the pair may still be alive.

"Our thoughts are with them today. Police now await the coroner’s decision in regards to the next part of the process."

The 195 page report summarises the evidence presented to the coroner's court by both police and the private investigator, hired to find Mike, or Hesong Zhao. The summary, and reasons for the conclusion are as follows:

- On 13 March 2015, John Beckenridge took Mike from his school in Invercargill. Seven days later several text messages were sent from the step-father’s phone, which was located in the Caitlins area at the time. The last of these was sent to Lu, stating 'The midnight express is leaving shortly'.

- On 22 March some debris, including car parts and Mike’s school bag, washed ashore in the Curio Bay area. Later that day, police identified that a vehicle may have gone over a cliff into the sea at Blue Cod Bay, 3kms south of Waikawa. Police subsequently located Beckenridge’s vehicle in the sea below that cliff. No bodies were found.

- The police position is that, on 20 March 2015, Beckenridge drove the vehicle off the cliff with Mike in it. They describe it as a case of murder/suicide.

The coroner found the theory of a staging at the clifftop and an escape is "implausible on the evidence". He found Beckenridge’s actions illustrate that he "either did not have, or did not display, the characteristics of the intelligent, resourceful, rational and well-prepared criminal" that Lu and her new partner Peter Russell believe him to be.

"Beckenridge’s willingness to use Mike as a weapon against Ms Lu reveals a callous disregard for the harm he was causing Mike. He did everything he could to turn Mike against, and incite hatred of, his mother and Mr Russell."

The Coroner adds: "His actions were those of a man who was desperate and irrational, making things up as he went along and driven by a desire to lash out at those he perceived to have done him wrong."

He was a man who had become "angry, self-righteous and vengeful, even at times delusional", the report says. "This is consistent with him carrying out the act of ending his and Mike’s lives by driving the vehicle off the cliff."

Police investigated whether the pair had left New Zealand, but their passports were blocked and Interpol was aware of them. The coroner said it was unlikely they had left by boat for another country.

He added: "The witness who gave evidence that she saw them on Gili Air Island was honest but mistaken. The people she saw were not Mr Beckenridge and Mike."

In the report, the coroner poses a question he describes as "vexing and distressing".

"What did Mike do at the clifftop? It is more probable than not that Mike was in the vehicle, either voluntarily or involuntarily, when Mr Beckenridge drove it off the cliff. I use the word ‘voluntarily’ in a qualified way. Mike was an 11-year-old boy who was in the power of Mr Beckenridge."

He finishes by saying the requirements of the Coroners Act 2006 have been met and he formally opens inquiries into the deaths of Mike and Beckenridge. He gave interested parties 21 days to say whether they think an inquest should be held.