Police investigating the murder of Baby Ru have recovered “deliberately concealed” items it calls “highly relevant” to the homicide inquiry during a “targeted search” in semi-rural land north of Wellington.
Just days before his second birthday, Ruthless-Empire died in Hutt Hospital in Lower Hutt from severe head injuries on October 22, 2023.
Police described the boy’s death as “violent”, and said his injuries could have come from a weapon, or through physical force such as slamming his head on a hard floor or table.
Police earlier said evidence — including a CCTV hard drive — had been taken from the home where Baby Ru was injured, prior to the scene being searched by police, .
The area most recently searched by police is along Moonshine Rd, off State Highway 58. This is 20 minutes by car from the Taita home where Ru lived and received the injuries which caused his death.
Items of property described as “highly relevant” to the investigation were located and were undergoing forensic examination, police said today.
Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said police were not in a position to share what the new information was but that it did not come from the public.
“This was information that wasn’t available when Ru died.
“Part of that work included searching for items that have been deliberately concealed.”
He said he hoped the latest development “jogs people’s memory” especially on Moonshine Rd.
Police also appealed for sightings of a vehicle it said “shuttled items from the crime scene”.
“Our message to them is, please contact us if you saw something out of place on October 22 last year.”
The vehicle of interest was a grey-green 1994 Nissan Sentra with the registration number TE6972.
Anyone with relevant information should contact police on 105.
The lead detective told 1News that the investigation team was still searching for evidence. (Source: 1News)
A year-long homicide inquiry
The development in the investigation comes just three days after the first anniversary of Baby Ru’s death.
Police made an appeal on the day of the anniversary, with the detective in charge of the homicide investigation restating he was committed to getting justice.
“This is a case where we are working for a one-year-old child who doesn’t have a voice, and we have three adults who were present at the home when this occurred – none who have come forward to accept responsibility,” Pritchard said.
“We have accounts from all three. Some things that have been said to us are inconsistent in terms of the police evidence and facts that have been gathered so there are aspects to what they’ve told us that are truthful. However, they haven’t told us everything.”
Police earlier said a missing CCTV hard drive could help solve the case, as it might include recordings from a camera inside the home.
“It could have footage on it that covers the incident, or certainly footage that is really relevant to what happened inside there, in the house that day,” Pritchard said.
The investigation team has also reviewed thousands of documents.