Malachi Subecz died after suffering months of abuse at the hands of his carer. Photo: Supplied
The cousin of murdered five-year-old Malachi Subecz has detailed her efforts to rescue the young boy from his abusive caregiver.
A coronial inquest into the boy's death continued Tuesday with evidence from his adult cousin Megan Cotter.
Malachi Subecz had been placed in the care of Michaela Barriball in Tauranga after the boy's mother Jasmine Cotter was sent to prison.
But this raised alarm bells for Cotter's family, who knew Barriball as the daughter of Cotter's co-accused.
"My main concern was the fact that Michaela was the co-accused's daughter and there was speculation that Malachi was being used as leverage or blackmail to try and stop Jas giving evidence against [Barriball's mother]," Megan Cotter said.
Megan, who lived in Wellington, made a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki and contacted Jasmine the next day.
"I pretty much told her we were terrified for Malachi's safety and if it turns nasty in court that he could be in danger. Jas responded saying 'they're my friends,' I told her 'they're not your friends and that's why you're in jail and they're out here laughing with your child'."
Megan Cotter feared her cousin was in danger
Megan Cotter began to suspect her cousin was in danger and started gathering evidence.
"On the 26th of June 2021 I received three photographs of Malachi from Michaela via Facebook Messenger after I had asked, pretending, that I wanted to see how his eye was after the eye surgery he had back in October 2020," she explained.
"When I got the photos, I was looking for any injuries or anything to be concerned about. I thought he had a bit of a black eye and possibly a fat lip."
She said it was unlike Malachi to injure himself.
"He wasn't a daredevil-type child, he wouldn't even climb up the ladder for the bunk beds at my house because he was too scared," she said.
But those photographs were not enough for Oranga Tamariki to act.
"On the 28th of June 2021, I sent the photos of Malachi's face to OT after speaking to them on the phone and telling them I had concerns," she recounted.
"Between that date and the 30th of July 2021, I was contacted by OT who told me the investigation wasn't going to go any further."
Megan Cotter searched for bruises on Malachi when they next met.
"Michaela and Malachi came down to Wellington and stayed at my address because Malachi had a follow-up eye appointment… I had a bag of clothing at my house for Malachi so when he came to stay, I got him to try on some of the clothes," she said.
"This was an excuse to look over his body while he was getting dressed to see if there was anything to keep him there with me and stop Michaela taking him back. All there was was teeny bruises on his shins and nothing I was concerned about."
'My worst fears were realised' - Megan Cotter
Megan Cotter then tried to convince Michaela to return Malachi to his family.
"At one point I had said to Michaela that Malachi's supposed father was going to come to court if Malachi wasn't with family," she said.
"I was just bluffing to try and get Michaela to bring Malachi down here to me."
Despite Megan Cotter's efforts, Michaela retained custody of Malachi until his hospitalisation and eventual death in November of 2021.
"Learning about Malachi being admitted to hospital and transferred to Starship was one of the most devastating experiences I had in my life. My worst fears were realised, I knew immediately Michaela was responsible," she said.
"I cannot put into words all the emotions I experienced. I had told Jasmine, police, Oranga Tamariki, the lawyer for child, the family court, Jasmine's family, criminal lawyers and the Tauranga District Court that Malachi was not safe and should not be in Michaela's care."
She hoped the inquest could make recommendations that would prevent similar deaths in the future.
"I want there to be some positive from Malachi's death, I do not want to read [about] another child dying while their parent goes into custody," she said.
"I consider this might not have happened if there was a system in place for making sure enquiries were made with family of the person charged who has the sole care of dependent children before a person is remanded in custody."
The lawyer assisting the coroner, Vivienne Crawshaw, noted Megan had been "incredibly persistent" in her attempts to save her cousin.
"I've listed here that over a three-day period you made 10 attempts to alert the authorities," she said.
"And none of those contacts [made you] feel heard, is that right?"
"Yes," Megan Cotter responded.
Paediatrician said it was obvious Malachi had been abused
Dr Niall Patrick Kelly, a paediatrician who cared for Malachi in hospital and a specialist in child abuse, said it was obvious the boy had been abused.
"The primary cause of his death was a severe head injury that he sustained on the morning he presented to hospital, but he had clear and unequivocal evidence of a pattern of abuse and neglect that I think had probably been going on for months prior to his admission," he said.
"He was covered with soft tissue injuries, bruises, inflicted burns. He was also malnourished. To be frank he showed evidence of a sustained period of cruelty, starvation and, arguably, torture."
Dr Kelly was highly critical of Oranga Tamariki for failing to act on the photos of Malachi's bruised face provided by Megan Cotter.
"This behaviour by Oranga Tamariki was not an anomaly. The practice of Oranga Tamariki social workers receiving such photographs, interpreting their meaning without the input of health professionals, and making decisions about child safety based on those interpretations is widespread," he said.
"I'd go so far as to say it is 'business as usual'."
He criticised the police for similar pitfalls and urged the coroner to consider the importance of officers and social workers consulting medical professionals before dismissing or diagnosing abuse.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
