Newstalk ZB
The mother of 3-month-old Soul Turany has spoken for the first time about his tragic last hours – and vehemently denies having anything to do with the catastrophic head injury that ended the infant’s life. Storme Turany is today giving evidence at the inquest into her baby son’s death in 2014. Until today, she has not shared her version of events from baby Soul’s last hours. “I loved him with everything I had,” she said. “Soul made me realise why I was put on this earth. “I’m here to tell you the truth.” Soul Turany died in August 2014. Photo / Supplied Police say Turany and her then-boyfriend Tony Farmer are the only people who could have inflicted the fatal injuries on baby Soul at their Burnham home in August 2014. No one has ever been charged in relation to Soul’s death but police have said they will act on any new information or evidence. Over the last two weeks, Coroner Ian Telford has been holding an inquest into what happened to Soul. Today, he called on Turany to give evidence. “I think it’s always important to tell the truth and be honest,” she said. She maintained she was telling the truth when first interviewed by police in 2014 while Soul was on life support. “I would never hurt my baby… I’ve never even gotten angry at him I’ve never been rough with him. I’m just dumbfounded as to how this happened," she told a detective. When asked if she had “shaken or hurt Soul”, she said: “I promise you I have never hurt my baby, I would never. “I have struggled, but no more than any other new mother... I would always put him down gently.” Turany said in that interview she could “very easily recognise” that police suspected she had injured her child. The death of Soul Mathew Turany Soul suffered a catastrophic head injury – the result of “a hard impact” – at a house in Burnham on August 30, 2014. Emergency services were called after Soul became “limp” and had difficulty breathing. Soul was flown to Christchurch Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter in a critical condition. Soul and his father Corey Neligan. He was not living with the baby when he died. Photo / Supplied His injuries were not survivable, and he was taken off life support just after 3am the following day. Police launched a homicide investigation. The only people at the house when Soul was hurt were his mother, Storme Turany and her then-partner, Tony Farmer. They split up soon after the little boy died. Nobody has ever been charged over the infant’s death, though police named Turany and Farmer as persons of interest in the months afterwards. An inquest is now being held to establish the circumstances. Over the past week, Coroner Telford has heard extensive evidence from doctors involved with Soul’s death, and about the criminal investigation. Yesterday, he heard from former police psychologist David Scott, who provided a report to investigators advising he thought Turany was “more likely” to be responsible for harming Soul. Storme’s story: mum’s harrowing evidence Before she began sharing her story, Coroner Telford explained to Turany that she had privilege in court against self-incrimination. That meant that she could decline to answer any questions that she believed might incriminate her or increase the likelihood of her being prosecuted in relation to Soul’s death. The coroner said Turany would not face any legal consequences for refusing to answer such questions. She began by speaking about her childhood in Australia. She said she lived with her mother, who had a “severe” health condition. Her mother was violent when she was “younger” but Turany did not elaborate further on the details. “She loved in her own way,” she said. “She did love us all, but sometimes it did come with some challenges.” Her mother moved t...
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