No charges laid – 1000 days since Baby Ru’s death

In brief

• 1000 days since Baby Ru’s death, no one has been charged.

• Police have previously said three adults remain persons of interest.

• Police said in May they were assessing independent legal advice and had built a “really comprehensive evidential foundation.”

• The IPCA says it has received no complaint or Police notification about the handling of the case.

A toddler dead, no charges laid

Ruthless-Empire Ahipene-Wall, known publicly as Baby Ru, died on 22 October 2023, just days before his second birthday.

Police said post-mortem results confirmed his cause of death was blunt-force trauma and that they believed the injuries were not accidental.

1000 days since, three adults remain persons of interest, but no one has been charged.

In October 2025, Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said those three adults remained persons of interest and that the person responsible for Baby Ru’s death had not been held to account.

He said Police shared the public’s “immense frustration” and remained committed to ensuring justice was served.

Police told RNZ in May they were assessing independent legal advice and had built what they described as a “really comprehensive evidential foundation” for considering criminal culpability.

No IPCA complaint or notification

Centrist asked the Independent Police Conduct Authority whether it had received a complaint or Police notification about the handling of the unresolved homicide investigation.

The IPCA says it has received no complaint or Police notification.

Police Professional Conduct also told Centrist there is “no correspondence between Police and the IPCA in respect of the ‘Baby Ru’ homicide investigation.”

Police gave that response under the Official Information Act, refusing the request under section 18(e) because the information “does not exist.”

The responses do not mean Police have been inactive. They also do not mean Police were required to notify the IPCA, or that the IPCA should oversee an active homicide investigation.

But they do show no visible IPCA process has been triggered over the handling of the case.

The public-confidence question

The appearance of a stalled investigation raises a public-confidence question.

When a toddler is killed, three adults remain persons of interest and no charges have been laid 1000 days later, is the public being asked to rely entirely on internal Police assurances?

The IPCA has told Centrist it does not have the power to initiate the type of inquiry requested.

However, section 22(2) of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act allows the Police Commissioner, before or after a Police investigation has begun, to request that the Authority investigate a complaint, incident or other matter.

Centrist asked Police to confirm whether that provision could apply to the handling of an ongoing investigation, and what process applies when such a referral is requested.

Police directed Centrist to the legislation, saying it was unsure it could add anything to what the section says. It did not explain what referral process would apply.

_{Receive our free newsletter here}