Mother, son died in accident—Coroner

Press, 4 November 1978, Page 4

Mother, son died in accident—Coroner

PA Masterton! A tragic family fishing trip to Castlepoint rocks, which led io the death of a mother and her young son, was an accident, the Central Wairarapa Coroner (Mr D. B Leitch) has ruled. Coral Daphne Prieditis and her son. Aaron John, aged six, of Pahiatua, vanished on the evening of April 29 while her husband led their daughter. Larisa, aged four, to a sheltered spot. The body of Mrs Prieditis was recovered from the water days later, but. her son's body has not been found. At the inquest into both their deaths, the Coroner found that Mrs Prieditis died from a broken spin? suffered

(when she disappeared from rocks while fishing at Castlepoint. The Coroner said that in the boy’s case, death was assumed in the absence of the body, to have been caused either by injury suffered in falling on to the rocks, or by drowning. In September. Harold John Prieditis told the Hamilton Coroner (Mr J. Webb) that he, his wife, and two. children had gone fishing from the rocks in failing light. While he led his daughter to shelter. Mrs Prieditis had remained on the rock holding a torch and fishing rod, her son holding her coat. When he returned to the rock three or four minutes later, both were missing.