“We trusted the system to support Caleb,” says Justine Lauese of the death of her son in Mt Eden Prison. Cushla Norman reports on the inquest, and talks to Lauese about the loss of her “funny, caring” son and why she believes he should never have been in Mt Eden Prison.
It’s been three years. Although Justine Lauese knows that no one person can be held accountable for her son Caleb Moefa’auo’s death, she is demanding justice. “He was a person. He was someone that had a future.”
Watch this story and the full interview with Justine Lauese on TVNZ+.
Lauese is speaking to media for the first time since Moefa’auo died in Mt Eden Prison in 2022.
Moefa’auo said ‘I can’t breathe’ 11 times, court hears
Yesterday was the first day of the inquest into the 26-year-old’s death. At the Auckland District Court, a coroner’s court heard that Moefa’auo told prison officers 11 times he couldn’t breathe, as they washed pepper spray from his face.
Moefa’auo had schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition sharing symptoms with both schizophrenia and mood disorders. The day he died, he’d been transferred to the prison’s Intervention Support Unit (ISU), for those with high mental health needs. It was there that an altercation with prison staff led to his death.
“He died too early, tragically because of decisions that were made, I believe, poorly,” Lauese told 1News prior to the inquest.
Yesterday, the counsel assisting the coroner, Rebekah Jordan, described the tragedy that unfolded in Mt Eden Prison on April 5, 2022. Moefa’auo had refused to return a towel, an issue because towels are not allowed in ISU cells for safety reasons.
“Caleb was told to pass the towel to one of the other corrections officers which he did. Caleb was then directed to get on his knees which he started to do, before standing back up, when the acting senior corrections officer shouted at him.
“That senior corrections officer then pepper sprayed as he backed away,” said Jordan.
In January 2024, that prison officer was found not guilty of assault using pepper spray. The jury was not told Moefa’auo had died because it was deemed too prejudicial.
Jordan told the Coroner’s Court that after Moefa’auo was pepper sprayed, a code blue (the term used to indicate a medical emergency) was called and Moefa’auo was restrained and placed in handcuffs. A total of 13 prison officers were involved.
“In doing so, one officer had an arm against Caleb’s throat and two officers each had a knee on his back. While this was happening, Caleb repeatedly apologised and made the first of a number of comments that he could not breathe,” Jordan said.
Jordan said Moefa’auo was then put in the decontamination yard for about nine minutes. “During that time he tried to stand up at least nine times. On each occasion he was told to stay seated and to listen to staff.
“Caleb also said he could not breathe 11 times. At one stage he said, ‘there’s no oxygen. I can’t breathe. There’s only carbon dioxide. How am I supposed to breathe?’ There was a limited response from the officers to these repeated statements. Towards the end of his time in the yard Caleb made spluttering or choking noises.”
Moefa’auo was then placed in the prone position on the floor of his cell. “The three officers struggled to get Caleb to lie flat. One officer tried to unlock the handcuffs while Caleb continued to make muffled noises. One of the officers asked if Caleb was alright and if he was breathing. Another officer said he was.
“The officer repeated his question and the same answer was given. Caleb then convulsed and vomited. He became unresponsive and stopped breathing. CPR was started but Caleb could not be revived,” said Jordan.
‘Inadequate leadership and direction’
New Zealand’s Principal Advisor for Tactical Controls, Advanced Control and Restraint, Robert Hoogenraad told the inquest that a “lessons learned review” into Moefa’auo’s death had revealed many findings. These included that there had been “inadequate leadership and direction provided by those leading the response to staff involved in the use of force incident”.
He also highlighted some of the factors leading up to Moefa’auo’s death which didn’t reflect Corrections policy, in the circumstances. These incuded deployment of pepper spray, use of force by more than four COs, and the decontamination process.
A shortage of beds at the Mason Clinic
“He was funny. He was caring. He loved family. He loved the outdoors,” says Justine Lauese of her late son who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when he was 19.
“He could function when he was well, and he was on his meds… He could hold down a job. But then he began to feel that he was well enough not to need the meds anymore. He would stop taking his medication and then he’d start to go downhill.
“We would have to call the mental health unit for support. There were so many different occasions, sometimes we would drive him to the unit.”
Moefa’auo was at Tiaho Mai, the mental health unit at Middlemore Hospital, before he was trasferred to Mt Eden Prison.
“He allegedly assaulted another patient,” says Lauese. “The judge sent him to Mount Eden remand. One of the doctors at Tiaho Mai prepared a letter, suggesting that it would be better if Caleb goes to Mason Clinic, but there wasn’t enough beds.”
There is currently a 25-day wait for a bed at the Mason Clinic, which provides health services to patients with mental health problems, within the context of criminal offending.
“Two days before he was going to have his court day to get out, he rang me [from prison] and he sounded so unwell,” Lauese says. “He sounded paranoid. He sounded like he was scared. He said things that didn’t make sense. I asked him ‘are you on your medication?’ He said he doesn’t need it. Yeah, he was just excited to get out.”
‘If he had that proper support, he’d be with us today’
Lauese hopes the inquest will help the family understand what went wrong. She wants new processes put in place
“To prevent mentally ill people going into remand in Mount Eden. Making more beds available at Mason Clinic, putting more money into systems that can accommodate people with mental health issues.
“I believe that they should have made a bed available for him at the Mason Clinic. He needed to stay on his medication. He needed to follow the treatment plan to get himself well and back to some normalcy.”
She says that while Moefa’auo was assessed before being put in prison, officers were not prepared enough.
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“Caleb was betrayed by the processes and the systems that they currently have in place. He was failed. He was betrayed, like he had trust in them to support him. We had trust in them to support Caleb, and if he had that proper support, he would be with us today.
In a statement to TVNZ, Corrections says it carried out a full review following Moefa’auo’s death.
All New Zealand prison staff now receive training for working with prisoners experiencing mental health challenges.
Tailored training is provided to those working in the ISU at Mt Eden Prison.
The inquest continues today.
Watch this story and the full interview with Justine Lauese on TVNZ+.
