Malachi Subecz Inquest: Cousin's 10 Alarms in Three Days to Warn of Unsafe Care

A cousin of the murdered 5-year-old Malachi Subecz testified at an inquest that she made 10 attempts in just three days to alert authorities about the unsafe living conditions of the child, who was later killed by his caregiver.

Jasmine Cotter, Malachi’s mother, was jailed in 2021 for drug-related offenses and handed guardianship of the boy to her friend, Michaela Barriball. This decision surprised Malachi’s biological family, who expected to take care of him during his mother’s sentence. However, Barriball later murdered Malachi in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Megan Cotter, Malachi’s cousin, said she was “terrified” when she learned Barriball had taken custody of the child. She made multiple attempts to alert child protection authorities and other relevant parties about the unsafe situation, including a report to the police and a concern report to Oranga Tamariki.

“My concerns were real and unfortunately they were proven to be correct,” she told the coronial inquiry in Auckland. Megan Cotter described Barriball as someone with no children of her own who was “making a show” of being a capable parent. She believed Malachi should have been with family, not strangers.

One of her other concerns was a potential conflict of interest: Barriball’s mother was the co-accused in Jasmine Cotter’s drug case. Megan Cotter warned her mother in prison that Malachi could be used as leverage against her if she spoke out in court.

Oranga Tamariki closed the concern report after Jasmine Cotter confirmed she was happy for Barriball to care for Malachi. However, Megan Cotter later sent a photo of Malachi with what appeared to be a black eye to the agency, but was told no further action would be taken. She accused the agency of “just ticking boxes.”

Despite the setbacks, Megan Cotter continued to push for an intervention. She even began legal action to seek custody of Malachi. However, hearings were delayed due to false claims by Barriball about being stuck in a lockdown during the pandemic.

On November 2, 2021, Oranga Tamariki called Megan Cotter to inform her that Malachi was in Starship Hospital with severe injuries. She immediately knew what had happened, and Malachi’s life support was switched off 10 days later.

Under questioning, Megan Cotter confirmed she made 10 reports of concern in the three days after Jasmine Cotter was jailed. She continued to raise the alarm over the following months, speaking to the courts, lawyers, police, Barriball herself, Jasmine Cotter, and Oranga Tamariki. She also contacted Malachi’s daycare to ask staff to keep an eye on him.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Vivienne Crawshaw KC, thanked Megan Cotter for her “enormous” efforts to protect Malachi. “There are few of us in the courtroom who can think of anything further you could have done,” she said.