By Michael Morrah
There has been a bizarre and tragic new twist in the case of Wanganui’s baby Jhia, who died aged two in a gang drive-by shooting.
One of the men jailed for her murder has now lost his own two-year-old, also to an act of violence.
Mongrel Mob members congregated at a gang pad in the suburb Aramoho, waiting for the arrival of the boy’s body.
"He was a beautiful little boy very much loved by both whanau. It's come as a shock to us what has happened,” Naomi Check.
Ms Check is the aunt of Karl Check, the Mongrel Mob member jailed for the murder of two-year-old Jhia Te Tua, the daughter of a Black Power Member.
But Check says this latest death was not gang related and that the boy had been staying with his mother and a friend shortly before the incident
"We were just told he stopped breathing. And when we got to the hospital he had already passed away," she says.
Police say the death is not linked to the Jhia Te Tua case, and are investigating it as a domestic related incident.
"An adult male arrived at the hospital late Saturday afternoon… He is certainly someone we want to speak with," says Detective Inspector Chris Bensemann, from the Wanganui police.
The mother of Jhia Te Tua, Ria Gardiner, says it is a sad situation, but at least the man responsible for the death of her daughter will feel the loss she has had to live with.
"Now he's going to know how it feels to lose a baby of the same age, you've spent two precious years with them," says Ms Gardiner.
She says it is a sad indictment on the boy's caregivers.
"They just happen to be in the crossfire of adult stupidity, it's not the children's fault”.
As police continue to hunt for the person responsible, they are appealing for anyone who knew the boy to come forward.
Meantime, Wanganui is preparing for the funeral of yet another child.
3 News