/news/crime/rss 九一星空无限 Keep up with the latest in local police, courts, and crime news across New Zealand with 九一星空无限talk ZB. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 17:58:33 Z en /news/crime/grey-lynn-shooting-kayden-stanaway-pleads-guilty-to-murder-of-maxwel-dee-repia/ /news/crime/grey-lynn-shooting-kayden-stanaway-pleads-guilty-to-murder-of-maxwel-dee-repia/ An Auckland teenager who shot four other young men last year at the apex of a prolonged feud that started over a girl has admitted guilt just weeks ahead of his scheduled murder trial.  Newly released court documents state the family of defendant Kayden Stanaway had been terrorised in the months leading up to the September 2024 shootings. But Stanaway also lashed out, threatening at one point to kidnap the father of 18-year-old Maxwel-Dee Repia, who would die just hours later.  Stanaway, now 20, returned to the High Court at Auckland this morning for the arraignment on one count of murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily injury.  The quadruple shooting has now been deemed to have been in self-defence, although so excessive as to be illegal, according to the agreed summary of facts for his case.  Stanaway fatally shot Repia and seriously injured Repia’s mates outside the defendant’s family home in Grey Lynn on the evening of September 5 last year, hours after Repia and others threw rocks at the house, smashing a window.  “The feud between the complainant group and Mr Stanaway began in early 2024 when Mr Stanaway began a relationship with the ex-girlfriend of a friend of the complainant group,” court documents state.  Kayden Stanaway appears in Auckland District Court in September 2024 for his first appearance following the fatal shooting of Maxwel-Dee Repia in Grey Lynn. Photo / Michael Craig  It ended with what appeared to be four carefully aimed shots.  “Mr Stanaway adopted a standing firing stance by resting his elbows on the roof of the Mazda vehicle and taking aim with the firearm at Mr Repia’s group across the road,” according to the agreed facts.  History of animosity  Stanaway and Repia appeared to have made permanent enemies of each other sometime in early 2024, when Repia attempted to punch the defendant through a car window, the agreed facts state. The two teens squared off on that occasion but didn’t end up fighting.  The next documented confrontation happened in late February that year, when a 13-year-old friend of the defendant was allegedly beaten up and robbed by Repia and his associates. Stanaway and his associates retaliated by doing the same to one of Repia’s friends.  Stanaway claimed to authorities that on St Patrick’s Day that year, Repia and some others showed up at his home, initially threatening to shoot his 13-year-old sister. When Stanaway and his father confronted the group, armed with a hammer and a crowbar, Stanaway claimed that Repia again escalated the situation.  Maxwel-Dee Repia was fatally shot in Grey Lynn, Auckland, in September 2024. Photo / Supplied  “Mr Stanaway’s account is that Mr Repia pulled out the apparent firearm and pointed it at Mr Rama-Manga’s head, pulling the trigger,” court documents state. “The gun made a clicking sound but no bullets were released.”  Police, however, were never called.  Two weeks later, the defendant claimed, Repia and his associates showed up at the home around 1am “armed with a crowbar and ready for a fight”. They allegedly smashed windows to the house and to Stanaway’s car, tagging it with spray paint.  “Mr Repia and others attempted to enter the house through the front door; however, Mr Stanaway, his father and his cousin were able to hold the door closed and prevent their entry,” court documents state.  Police were later called to report the damage. A short time later, a fragile truce between the two groups was reached.  But animosity reignited four-and-a-half months later, in mid-August, when Repia and his associates allegedly forced their way into Stanaway’s family home and confronted his father and 17-year-old sister. Stanaway was not home, but the group demanded the keys to his new motorbike, the agreed facts state.  The intruders were holding bottles as weapons, Stanaway’s father would later recount. As they left the house, Stanaway’s sister called the police. The defendant’s father called him.  “Mr Stanaway raced home and saw Mr Repia and his associates out on the street near his house,” court documents state. “He witnessed one of the associates assault his friend with a bottle to the head while his friend was on the ground.  Police investigate the crime scene in Grey Lynn where 18-year-old Maxwel-Dee Repia was shot to death by Kayden Stanaway. Photo / Hayden Woodward  “While they were assaulting his friend on the ground, Mr Stanaway drove his car at members of Mr Repia’s group, hitting at least one of them with his car. He then circled back around to where his friend was on the ground, in an attempt to block him from a further attack.  “This continued until the police arrived.”  By August 28, one week before the shooting, Stanaway was sending threats to Repia’s group via social media messages.  “Tell your big homie Max to pull up got a clip with his name on it,” he wrote in one message, referring to ammunition.  A friend of Repia’s, who would later be shot in the face, ended the exchange by sending a photo of himself holding a gun.  ‘I’ll kidnap your dad’  Earlier on the day of the shooting, Repia and his mates had filmed themselves chasing Stanaway in his car after randomly coming across him on the road.  Repia and some of the others who would later be shot then went to Stanaway’s home and threw the rocks, documents state. Stanaway’s father called police around 4.22pm followed by a call to his son.  As the evening progressed, Stanaway stood outside his home with a rottweiler dog and a group of friends who had arrived for his brother’s 14th birthday party.  Kayden Stanaway appears at Auckland District Court in September 2024, during his first appearance on the murder charge. Photo / Michael Craig  Stanaway at one point called Repia. In a follow-up message, he wrote: “Or I’ll kidnap your dad.”  At 6.01pm, Repia said he was headed to the house.  “Wait there,” he wrote. “If ur not there then im gna Kidnap ur dad.”  Repia said he wanted “just 1on1s” so it wouldn’t cause as much of a scene.  “No fanas,” the murder victim said, using Samoan slang for guns.  Police investigate the scene in a Grey Lynn neighbourhood last September. Photo / Hayden Woodward  Repia and four others parked near the New Lynn house at about 6.45pm  “As Mr Repia’s group approached the defendants’ group, a heated verbal exchange ensued that was escalating,” the summary of facts states. “Mr Stanaway alleges that two of Mr Repia’s associates threatened to shoot the rottweiler belonging to Mr Stanaway’s associate.”  Stanaway remained next to the open door of a white Mazda parked outside his home.  “Mr Stanaway, believing that at least one of the complainants had a firearm in their hands, reached into the Mazda vehicle and armed himself with a long-barreled .22 calibre rifle,” court documents state.  He aimed and fired the four shots in quick succession - each shot hitting a person.  Police respond to the crime scene in Grey Lynn where Kayden Stanaway shot four young men in September 2024, killing Maxwel-Dee Repia. Photo / Hayden Woodward.  Repia and his friends scattered as the shots were fired, but he died at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the chest.  One of the survivors was put in a medically induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries as a result of a bullet that punctured his nose and travelled into his neck, near his spine. Another was shot in the chin, and a third survivor was treated for a chest wound.  They were between the ages of 19 and 20.  Stanaway fled the scene in a Mercedes-Benz belonging to friend Destry Joe Watts, who was sentenced to two years’ intensive supervision in March after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the quadruple shooting.  Watts, 19, also buried the murder weapon in a planter box at his partner’s house. Police wouldn’t find it until two months later.  Co-defendant Destry Watts gestures towards a photographer during his appearance in Auckland District Court following the September 2024 shooting death of Maxwel-Dee Repia. Photo / Dean Purcell  Police caught up with both teens, albeit at separate locations, two days after the shootings.  During today’s brief hearing, Justice Geoffrey Venning ordered the defendant to remain in custody to await a sentencing hearing in February.  Stanaway, whose frame has enlarged significantly during his year behind bars awaiting trial, wore an untucked dress shirt and stood next to a communications assistant in the dock as the charges were put to him.  “Guilty,” he repeated four times before the brief hearing ended.  Most murder convictions result in an automatic life sentence, with a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 or more years.  However, judges occasionally impose shorter terms in cases where the standard outcome is thought to be manifestly excessive due to specific circumstances, such as youth or excessive self-defence.  Neither side indicated today what type of sentence will be sought.  Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.  Tue, 14 Oct 2025 22:27:31 Z /news/crime/judge-gives-teen-kidnapper-huge-discount-saying-17-year-olds-don-t-deserve-to-be-in-jail/ /news/crime/judge-gives-teen-kidnapper-huge-discount-saying-17-year-olds-don-t-deserve-to-be-in-jail/ A driver lost on Christmas Eve thought he’d found help when a stranger stopped to check on him but the roadside encounter escalated into a violent kidnapping where he was beaten and forced to buy pies for his attackers. During the ordeal, the victim was scared he would be shot if he didn’t comply and was dragged out of the car at one stage and beaten. Now, one of the people involved, Kava Peihopa, 17, has been sentenced in the Whangārei District Court on one charge each of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. The teen avoided a jail term after the judge gave him an “enormous” discount, saying 17-year-olds did not belong in prison unless it was “absolutely imperative”. The Christmas Eve kidnapping On December 24 last year, the victim was travelling north when his phone went flat, leaving him lost. While parked on the roadside and trying to figure out his next move, Peihopa approached and asked the victim if he was okay. He said he was and Peihopa left. Shortly after, another man arrived and allegedly demanded to search the victim’s vehicle, which he refused. In response, the man told the victim he was not leaving and allegedly blocked a nearby bridge with a vehicle. Peihopa then returned in his car with two others, all armed with steel bars. Police allege the man smashed the driver’s window before the victim was dragged out of the car and beaten, leaving him so dazed that he struggled to stand. Peihopa took the victim’s phone while one of the other people in the group allegedly demanded his PIN, which the victim gave. They forced the victim into Peihopa’s car and drove around Whangārei, demanding to know where he lived and worked. The victim told police it looked like one of the men had a gun but he was not sure. “He was scared if he didn’t do as you say so in four seconds, he’d be shot,” Judge Gus Andrēe Wiltens said. The group returned to the original location and got into the victim’s car with the victim. They continued to drive around the city and made him buy alcohol, pies and cigarettes from a liquor store and service station. The judge gave Peihopa a significant discount off his sentence. Photo / 九一星空无限 CCTV captured Peihopa with the victim inside the stores while the others waited in the car. The victim was eventually released in Raumanga and drove straight to a petrol station to call police. Peihopa’s lawyer, Jarrod Griffin, fought for a sentence of home detention, noting his client is only 17, with no criminal record and has completed several rehabilitation programmes since the offending. “I am urging your honour to consider home detention for this young man in consideration of the crushing effect of a sentence of imprisonment and what that would mean for this young man,” Griffin told the court. “It would be a real shame if the outcome was a custodial one.” Crown lawyer Ina Stewart acknowledged Peihopa’s age and lesser role but argued he wasn’t merely “along for the ride”. “He’s been involved in the physical violence,” she said. Judge Andree Wiltens agreed imprisonment would be crushing and applied a significant discount to the starting point of five years and three months. “I’m giving you a discount of 62 and a half per cent, which is enormous,” the judge said. “The Government of the day say I shouldn’t do that – they passed legislation to make sure judges can’t do that unless it’s manifestly unjust. “And in this situation, and bearing in mind your circumstances, I would say that is the case. Seventeen-year-olds don’t deserve to be in jail really, unless it’s absolutely imperative and it’s not in your case.” Peihopa was sentenced to 12 months of home detention followed by 12 months of intensive release conditions. “The first 12 months is punitive and the next 12 months is designed to try and help you to make sure there’s no repetition of this. I hope you take that.” Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined 九一星空无限 in 2023. Mon, 13 Oct 2025 21:09:07 Z /news/crime/two-new-zealanders-charged-over-13m-cocaine-haul-at-sydney-airport/ /news/crime/two-new-zealanders-charged-over-13m-cocaine-haul-at-sydney-airport/ Two Kiwis flying into Australia have been charged after border patrol agents discovered 40kg of cocaine stashed in their suitcases. Australian Border Force (ABF) officers discovered the drugs on Friday after selecting the two men, both 21, for a baggage examination upon their arrival at Sydney International Airport. Each of the men’s suitcases allegedly contained 20kg of a white substance, which testing later confirmed to be cocaine. The estimated street value of the seized cocaine is $13 million, and could have potentially been sold off in up to 130,000 individual street deals, officials from ABF and Australian Federal Police (AFP) said. The men have been charged with importing and possessing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, with both charges carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The New Zealanders appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday and were remanded in custody with their next appearance set for December 3. The 40kg haul was found in the suitcases of two New Zealanders during a baggage examination at Sydney International Airport. Photo / AFP The ABF and AFP both commended their officers for their collaborative effort in intercepting the drugs, reiterating that their teamwork helps to stop criminal networks using air travel to smuggle drugs across borders. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Stuart Millen said the law enforcement agency was “committed to defending Australia from drug trafficking and disrupting the criminals attempting to profit at the expense and suffering of the community”. ABF Superintendent Elke West said officers would continue to work with state and federal partners to “disrupt these organised criminal syndicates’ corrupt business models”. “ABF officers are protecting our border every single day from the threat of illicit drugs – whether that be through targeting airport drug mules, or assessing cargo which arrives at our shores via air and sea,” West said. “Our aim is to uphold the integrity of the Australian border and protect the community from the dangers of these illicit substances. ” Officials urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to help identify and prevent threats at airports. Sun, 12 Oct 2025 20:28:54 Z /news/crime/man-charged-with-smashing-winston-peter-s-window-appears-in-court-pleads-not-guilty/ /news/crime/man-charged-with-smashing-winston-peter-s-window-appears-in-court-pleads-not-guilty/ The man charged after allegedly smashing the window of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Auckland home with a crowbar has appeared in court.  A 29-year-old Sandringham man entered a not guilty plea to the burglary charge through defence lawyer Jonathan Hudson when he appeared before Judge Claire Ryan in Auckland District Court this morning.  He also asked for a trial by jury.  The man sought interim name suppression, but reasons for seeking suppression cannot be reported. The judge cleared the courtroom of everyone but lawyers, media and supporters of the defendant as submissions were heard.  Police prosecutor Darcel Andrews did not oppose temporary suppression so that the defence can have time to provide further documents to the court.  Judge Ryan allowed suppression to stay in place until his next hearing in February, at which point more fulsome submissions will be needed if suppression is to remain in place.  Judge Ryan allowed the defendant to remain on bail, but with conditions that included no contact with Peters and his partner and not to go within 1km of Peters’ home.  Police charged the man earlier this week with burglary of a residential building, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Judge Ryan noted that the alleged victims were “of high political and public prominence”.  The judge allowed the defendant to remain on bail, but with conditions that included no contact with Peters and his partner and not to go within 1km of Peters’ home.  Police were called on Monday evening after a front window of Peters’ home he shares with partner Jan Trotman was smashed and a note was left on the door.  Prior to the damage, pro-Palestinian protesters had targeted the residence gathering in front of the minister’s home chanting and writing slogans on the footpath.  Thu, 09 Oct 2025 22:22:50 Z /news/crime/reality-tv-funeral-director-fiona-bakulich-released-from-prison-after-winning-sentence-reduction-on-auckland-high-court-appeal/ /news/crime/reality-tv-funeral-director-fiona-bakulich-released-from-prison-after-winning-sentence-reduction-on-auckland-high-court-appeal/ Disgraced former funeral director and reality TV star Fiona Tania Bakulich, who has been in prison since April for defrauding mourning families, has had her sentence reduced to home detention on appeal.  High Court at Auckland Justice David Johnstone issued his written decision to the parties on Tuesday, referring to the earlier two-year, three-month sentence that was doled out in Auckland District Court as “manifestly excessive”.  His decision was released publicly this morning.  At the time of the offending, Bakulich worked for Tipene Funerals and was featured in The Casketeers, a reality TV show about the business.  Company owners Kaiora and Francis Tipene, who star in the show, have not been accused of any wrongdoing.  Court documents state Bakulich swindled grieving families out of about $18,000 altogether, starting with a $3000 charge in 2017 to line a loved one’s casket in zinc.  “You gladly pocketed the money. You did not line the casket,” sentencing Judge Evangelos Thomas told Bakulich earlier this year, pointing out that the deceased was instead wrapped in plastic.  “The family’s loved one was buried and no one would have ever known.”  However, the burial site was disturbed by a flood six years later during Cyclone Gabrielle “and your fraud was distressingly revealed for all to see”, Judge Thomas said.  Another grieving family was targeted in October 2021, when Bakulich “tricked” the victims into paying $7000 extra for what she claimed was a breach of Covid-19 regulations during the funeral.  “That was all a lie,” Judge Thomas said. “You gladly pocketed that money as well.”  In September 2022, another family was charged $1150 after Bakulich falsely claimed the body had to be treated for Covid-19.  And from August 2022 to January 2024, she targeted seven more families, claiming payments were necessary because the law required her to inject their deceased loved ones with immunisations.  No such law existed, nor would an immunisation have any effect on a corpse, authorities noted.  Tipene Funerals former undertaker Fiona Bakulich. Photo / Michael Craig  She pleaded guilty to two counts of interfering with a grave or human remains, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment, and 12 charges of obtaining by deception. She faced up to seven years’ imprisonment for three of the fraud charges involving amounts over $1000.  At last week’s High Court appeal hearing before Justice Johnstone, defence lawyer Susan Gray argued that her client should have received more generous reductions for her remorse and personal circumstances during the district court hearing.  Gray suggested Bakulich should have received a 15% discount for “the compounding effect of widespread publicity relating to her prosecution”, which, she argued, made the sentence disproportionately severe.  She also argued for an additional 15% reduction for Bakulich’s traumatic childhood and 5% for her genuine remorse.  In the six months since her sentencing, Bakulich has twice requested voluntary segregation from other prisoners due to her notoriety, her lawyer noted.  “Ms Bakulich’s health did not feature, to any significant extent, in the District Court sentencing,” Justice Johnstone noted in his decision.  “It is unsurprising, given the modest supporting material and the written submissions of Ms Bakulich’s former counsel, that the sentencing Judge made no reference to Ms Bakulich’s mental health.”  The judge said he accepted that her experience in prison has impacted more severely upon her than others. He also noted that, to an extent, she should have expected as much when she voluntarily participated in a reality TV show.  “However, some of the media and social media coverage that was generated was attached to submissions,” he continued.  “There has been inaccurate reporting. And the non-traditional media publicity has been vitriolic.  “While some of that too might have been expected, the additional factor in this case is Ms Bakulich’s pre-existing susceptibility to stress and vulnerability.  “Overall, I am satisfied Ms Bakulich was entitled to a meaningful reduction from the adjusted starting point, calibrated to account for the disproportionately severe impact upon her of a sentence of imprisonment, arising because of her poor pre-sentencing mental health and the compounding effect of vitriolic publicity of her offending and personal deficiencies.”  Justice Johnstone declined to order an additional reduction for Bakulich’s background but said the discount offered by the district court judge for remorse was inadequate.  He allowed overall additional discounts of 15%, which would have brought her sentence down to one year and nine months’ imprisonment. For any sentence of less than two years, a judge can then consider non-custodial alternatives.  Normally, Justice Johnstone said, he would have imposed an alternative sentence of 10 months’ home detention. But because Bakulich has already served months in prison, he instead ordered her to serve four months of home detention.  The home detention sentence started Wednesday.  Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.  Thu, 09 Oct 2025 21:23:30 Z /news/crime/raumanga-house-fire-northland-police-appeal-for-help-identifying-balaclava-clad-person/ /news/crime/raumanga-house-fire-northland-police-appeal-for-help-identifying-balaclava-clad-person/ Northland police are calling on the public to help identify a balaclava-clad person seen in the early hours of the morning at a Whangārei property later destroyed in a suspicious fire. Five flatmates had been asleep inside the home on Raumanga Valley Rd when a couch on the front porch was reportedly set alight about 6.20am on September 24. The sound of glass smashing woke one of the flatmates, whose bedroom was near where the fire had started. He raced to alert the others before running outside to find a hose. The man was unsure whether someone had intended to burn the house down, but said setting the fire had clearly been malicious. Whangārei Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer said the occupants had safely escaped, but the situation could have been very different. Shortly after the fire, police found bullet holes from a slug gun in a window of the home that had not been there at the time of the blaze. They were not sure if the two events were connected. Officers are continuing to investigate the suspected arson and have appealed to the public for help identifying a person of interest. Pilmer said the person was seen on Raumanga Valley Rd between 4am and 6am the day before the blaze. “If you saw this person, or anything else suspicious around that time, we want to hear from you,” Pilmer said. Police previously called for sightings of a white or silver vehicle seen about the time of the fire. “We’re making good progress on the investigation, including reviewing a significant amount of CCTV footage,” Pilmer said. Anyone with information can contact police online or call 105 using the reference number 250924/3224. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Wed, 08 Oct 2025 01:31:58 Z /news/crime/auckland-transport-bus-driver-mikaele-ah-fook-pleads-guilty-to-killing-passenger-peter-te-kira/ /news/crime/auckland-transport-bus-driver-mikaele-ah-fook-pleads-guilty-to-killing-passenger-peter-te-kira/ After having to deal again with a belligerent, intoxicated passenger who had caused trouble on previous occasions by refusing to pay a fare, Auckland Transport bus driver Mikaele Ah Fook lost it.  The 34-year-old launched himself from the driver’s seat and threw a single punch at Peter Mark Te Kira, 61, who was standing roughly a metre from the bus entrance at a Papatoetoe stop.  That loss of control resulted in Te Kira’s death in April. Now it has also resulted in Ah Fook’s conviction for manslaughter.  New details of the incident can now be reported for the first time after Ah Fook entered a guilty plea today in the High Court at Auckland.  A sentencing date has now been set for February.  Court documents state the two men crossed paths for the final time around 1.40pm on April 27, when Ah Fook’s bus arrived at a stop near Great South Rd.  Peter Te Kira died on April 30 after he was assaulted by a bus driver on Great South Rd in Papatoetoe, Auckland, on 27 April. Photo / Supplied  Te Kira had spent the past two hours at a nearby tavern and was observed by a witness at the bus stop as having sung loudly and being unable to keep still as he waited for the bus to arrive.  When it did arrive, he took his seat without paying.  “The defendant told the deceased to pay for his fare, but the deceased ignored him and walked to the rear of the bus,” the agreed summary of facts for the case state.  “The defendant remained in the driver’s seat while speaking with the deceased for approximately two minutes, requesting the deceased to get off the bus. The deceased said ‘no’ loudly two or three times.”  It wasn’t until Ah Fook got out of the driver’s seat that Te Kira relented, slamming his hands down on the safety rail as he stood up and exited through the bus’ rear door.  Te Kira pulled the finger at the driver as he walked outside the bus back to the entrance, where he remained outside.  Ah Fook, who estimates he had argued with the passenger on about three other occasions over unpaid fares, later told police the breaking point for him was when Te Kira told him to “f**k off back to my own country”.  Peter Te Kira got on the bus without paying. Photo / Supplied  The punch caused Te Kira to lose consciousness and fall backwards on to the concrete pavement, resulting in another blow to his head.  “On realising the deceased was unconscious, the defendant pulled the deceased further into the bus shelter and placed him slumped in an upright position up against the seated area,” court documents state.  “The defendant left the deceased there, returned to his bus and continued his route.”  Te Kira died three days later at Auckland Hospital after having been put in an induced coma. His cause of death was found to be blunt force head injuries.  Ah Fook, meanwhile, confessed to police on the same day that Te Kira died, explaining that Te Kira was being rude and again refusing to pay.  “When asked why he left the deceased there, the defendant said that the deceased was still breathing when he left him and he thought that the deceased would be okay and wake up after a while,” court documents state. “The defendant said that he [the defendant] had been knocked out previously himself, so he assumed the deceased would also wake up.”  Authorities characterised Ah Fook as “extremely remorseful” during the interview.  “He said he was angry with himself for punching the deceased, particularly because the deceased was older than he was,” police noted. “The defendant wanted to visit the deceased at the hospital to apologise.”  Instead, Ah Fook may get a chance to apologise to the victim’s family.  At the conclusion of today’s hearing, Justice Mathew Downs allowed the defendant to remain on bail pending his sentencing - in part so that he can participate in a restorative justice meeting with Te Kira’s family, which they have agreed to attend.  “I must make one thing clear to you, however,” the judge said. “Manslaughter is an entirely serious crime and there is a very real possibility of a sentence of imprisonment come February.”  Defence lawyer Tua Saseve has indicated to the court he may seek a non-custodial sentence for his client.  Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.  Tue, 07 Oct 2025 22:55:23 Z /news/crime/christchurch-rapist-wiria-mohamadi-jailed-after-victim-s-emotional-statement/ /news/crime/christchurch-rapist-wiria-mohamadi-jailed-after-victim-s-emotional-statement/ WARNING: This story is about sexual assault A woman has told the man who abducted and raped her that his refusal to accept responsibility contributed to a permanent change in her brain chemistry. “The nightmares of what he did to me, for months after I could barely sleep an hour at a time. “His actions haunt my dreams but also my reality, my body still reacts,” she said. “He gave me a wound that no one can see, that no one can understand, a wound I couldn’t talk about, a wound that was reopened again and again. “His cowardice to take responsibility, his actions have permanently altered my brain chemistry leading to post-traumatic stress disorder.” The woman shed tears as she spoke in the Christchurch District Court today about what Wiria Mohamadi, 40, had done. “What he did to me completely altered my life, I will never feel safe. “He targeted me when I was at my most vulnerable. “This man preyed on me, a complete stranger.” Mohamadi was found guilty in April when a jury of eight men and four women took just under three hours to return guilty verdicts on charges of abduction for sexual connection, rape and unlawful sexual connection. He raped the woman in July 2023 after she had been drinking heavily while out with friends in Christchurch. Today, the victim, in her 20s, said the past two years had been measured by the numerous court dates. “Before July 2023, I prided myself on being strong and independent. Before the traumatic events I was happy; his actions shattered my sense of safety, my body no longer feels safe. “I still feel trapped, repulsed and terrified. My world shrank, leaving the house is terrifying, I still watch for people who might follow me home. I tried desperately to return to a sense of normalcy, but it no longer exists.” At trial, the victim said she had struggled to remember much of the events because she was intoxicated and fell and hit her head outside a bar just before 5am. She said she repeatedly tried to re-enter the bar in an attempt to search for her bag and became increasingly frustrated as she continued to be removed from the venue. Wiria Mohamadi was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court today. Photo / 九一星空无限 It was during that chaos, she hit her head on the pavement. Mohamadi appeared in a car around this time and watched the woman’s interactions. She was put in an Uber by a friend and Mohamadi followed her in his car, picked her up from outside her home and took her to his place where he sexually assaulted her. While Mohamadi claimed the victim had consented to going with him, the victim said she had no memory of it. The first memory she had was of Mohamadi lying on top of her. She remembered rolling away from him and saying she didn’t want sex, and Mohamadi trying to convince her to keep going. While the Crown said there were many pieces of evidence that pointed to the complainant not being in a position to consent, the defence said there was evidence that favoured the defendant. The Crown said Mohamadi had seen the complainant in a motionless state and that she had passed the point of consent through intoxication and hitting her head. The defence said the complainant did consent and that she was not intoxicated to the point where she couldn’t make decisions. The defence suggested she had blacked out and sobered up by the time she arrived at Mohamadi’s house. In sentencing Mohamadi, Judge Michael Crosbie said there was a continued denial of the offending. “You knew just how heavily intoxicated the victim was,” Judge Crosbie said. “You took advantage of her vulnerability to a significant degree. “All of your actions that night were deliberate, callous and highly premeditated.” Judge Crosbie jailed Mohamadi for 11 years and six months. SEXUAL HARM Where to get help:If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:• Call 0800 044 334• Text 4334• Email support@safetotalk.nz• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nzAlternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault. Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands 九一星空无限. Tue, 07 Oct 2025 07:58:10 Z /news/crime/murder-charge-laid-after-man-dies-at-new-lynn-property/ /news/crime/murder-charge-laid-after-man-dies-at-new-lynn-property/ A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder after a man died following desperate attempts to save his life in Auckland’s New Lynn. Emergency services were called to a property in Kaponga Cr about 11.52am yesterday after a report that a person had been injured. Acting Detective Inspector Simon Harrison said, despite the best efforts from first responders, the man died at the scene. “A 28-year-old man was arrested at the scene and has subsequently been charged with murder.” Harrison said police are not seeking anyone else in relation to this incident. Police and paramedics were called Kaponga Cr following a report of a person injured. Photo / Supplied “A scene examination is continuing, and a post-mortem examination and formal identification of the victim will be carried out today. “Police will likely be able to release more details about the man after these processes have been completed. “Police and Victim Support Services are providing support to the victim’s whānau during this difficult time,” Harrison said. He said a police presence will remain in the area as the investigation continued today. Police are investigating the homicide of a man on Kaponga Cr in New Lynn. Photo / NZH Today, police and forensics were still at the scene tucked away right at the end of Kaponga Cr. Residents and neighbours said that they had seen plenty of police yesterday and today, but didn’t know anything about the people involved or the incident itself. The police presence continued on Kaponga Cr in New Lynn. Photo / Samuel Sherry “We are pleased to have been able to charge someone in relation to this tragic incident.” The man appeared in Waitākere District Court today and was remanded in custody to appear in the Auckland High Court on October 22. Yesterday, one resident told the Herald there had been multiple armed police officers in the street at one point. “When the ambulance arrived, they were telling everyone to stay at home because they didn’t know what was going on and were trying to find someone.” Another resident told the Herald there were about 10 police officers on the road at one point. “They kept coming one by one.” She said every police officer was armed for about an hour. Tue, 07 Oct 2025 01:22:30 Z /news/crime/auckland-man-sentenced-to-home-detention-for-filming-62-women-in-secret/ /news/crime/auckland-man-sentenced-to-home-detention-for-filming-62-women-in-secret/ An Auckland man has been sentenced to 10 months home detention for secretly filming 62 women, including inside changing rooms at a Newmarket store, in public showers and toilets. The footage of women uncovered by police spanned 16 months, filmed between June 2023 and October 2024. Of the 62 female victims, only three have been identified. The man, in his 30s, was originally charged with 64 counts of making an intimate visual recording. The covertly filmed videos were taken in private changing rooms at a Newmarket business, and in public places around the wider Auckland region under victims’ skirts on escalators, in toilet stalls and public showers. The man is fighting to keep his identity a secret and currently has been granted interim name suppression. At his sentencing in Auckland District Court today, the man bowed his head and wept during the proceedings. He pleaded guilty to two representative charges of making an intimate visual recording, which carry a maximum sentence of up to three years in jail. In a Newmarket store from 2023 to May 2024, the man captured footage of 13 other victims while hiding in a covert position above a changing room. Six female victims were filmed in public showers in January 2024, with the defendant capturing intimate video of them over the top of a shower cubicle. Three female victims were also filmed without their knowledge while using a public toilet facility in Auckland in April 2024. The man was caught by police on October 7 last year after filming up a victim’s skirt in a Countdown supermarket. As the woman was shopping, she felt something touch her inner calf, and turned to see the defendant standing behind her. He then apologised to her and quickly exited the Countdown, which caused her to report the “concerning actions” to the police. A search warrant uncovered further intimate pictures and video recordings on the man’s cell phone. Judge Kathryn Maxwell said the “voyeuristic offending” involved a “gross invasion of privacy”, with the unaware victims being captured visibly or partially nude in footage. “They [the victims] were not in a position to prevent what you were doing,” she said. Crown prosecutor Manawa Te Ahuru-Quinn said one victim was firmly opposed to the defendant’s identity being kept a secret and had offered to lift her own name suppression to help prevent this. Defence lawyer Daniel Schellenberg said the man was “genuinely remorseful” and had been attending church with his wife and was no longer watching pornographic videos. The defendant had also been having counselling sessions with a registered clinical psychologist. Revealing the man’s name would lead to him being socially shunned by the wider community and his family, which would have a flow-on effect, Schellenberg said. Te Ahuru-Quinn said there was no evidence that publishing the defendant’s name would cause him to deter his efforts towards rehabilitation. A psychologist’s report found “stress, loneliness and frustration” as well as a longstanding interest in pornography and up-skirting footage had contributed to the man’s offending. However, it also said the defendant was “angry to get caught” and there was an average level of risk that he may sexually reoffend. Schellenberg acknowledged there was “a level of premeditation” in his actions that was an aggravating feature for sentencing. Judge Maxwell sentenced the man to 10 months’ home detention and instructed him to complete an appropriate rehabilitation programme as directed by a probation officer. She declined his application for name suppression because his circumstances failed to meet the threshold of extreme hardship. Maxwell said given the prolific nature of the offending, other victims may choose to come forward if the defendant’s name was revealed. Schellenberg said the man was planning to launch an appeal against the decision on name suppression. Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:14:48 Z /news/crime/detectives-seek-dashcam-and-cctv-from-great-king-st-after-dunedin-death/ /news/crime/detectives-seek-dashcam-and-cctv-from-great-king-st-after-dunedin-death/ Police are appealing to motorists and pedestrians who may have critical information regarding the death of a man in North Dunedin on Friday. The body of Aneli Helu Katea, 36, was discovered at Great King St address last week about 2pm on October 3. On Monday, a 25-year-old man appeared in the Dunedin District Court, charged with his murder. Southern District criminal investigations manager Detective Inspector Shona Low said the man is in custody and due to reappear in Dunedin District Court on October 21. Dunedin police received reports of a sudden death at a property on Great King St on Friday afternoon. Photo / Ben Tomsett “During this time of day Great King St, known to many as ‘the one way north’, is busy with cars and pedestrians, and we believe there is critical information that was recorded on dashcams, CCTV, or general photos and videos,” she said. “We are appealing to anyone who was on Great King St, between Union Street West and St David St between 5am and 2.30pm on Friday, with a specific focus around 11am. “We would like to hear from the public as soon as possible.” A man has appeared in Dunedin District Court charged with murder after a body was found in North Dunedin on Friday. Photo /Ben Tomsett Police have created a dedicated web portal where people can upload photos or footage that was taken between 5am and 2.30pm on Friday, October 3 in the Great King St area. Footage can be uploaded here: https://tex.nc3.govt.nz/. Information can also be provided online through 105 online or via phone, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Please use the reference number 251003/5165. On Monday, Judge Hermann Retzlaff directed that a report be prepared to explore the accused man’s fitness and insanity under request from Counsel Anne Stevens KC, who also sought name suppression. A mental health report will also be prepared. The man was remanded in custody without plea until his next appearance in the Dunedin High Court on October 21. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A neighbour told the Herald they were at home on Friday afternoon when they heard what they believed was a man’s scream. A scene guard was in place over the weekend as a forensic examination was carried out. Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023. Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:11:22 Z /news/crime/criminal-charge-filed-against-bus-driver-accused-of-hitting-83yo-pedestrian/ /news/crime/criminal-charge-filed-against-bus-driver-accused-of-hitting-83yo-pedestrian/ Police have filed a criminal charge against an Auckland bus driver who was behind the wheel when an elderly pedestrian was fatally hit two months ago. The 30-year-old appeared at Auckland District Court for the first time on Friday. He has not yet entered a plea for the charge of carelessly operating a vehicle, causing death. He is set to return to court later this month. The charge, common in fatal accidents, carries a maximum possible punishment of three months’ imprisonment and a $4500 fine. Police previously reported that an 83-year-old woman had been hit by a bus near the intersection of Onehunga’s Church and Lower Municipal streets just before 11.30am on Monday, August 4. The woman, later identified as Māngere Bridge resident Pamela Marion Biggs, was pronounced dead a day later. “Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this difficult time,” Senior Sergeant Wayne Gear said at the time. Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand. Sun, 05 Oct 2025 21:23:17 Z /news/crime/homicide-man-charged-with-murder-after-body-found-at-north-dunedin/ /news/crime/homicide-man-charged-with-murder-after-body-found-at-north-dunedin/ A man has been charged with murder after a body was found in Dunedin on Friday. Detective Inspector Shona Low, Crime Manager Southern District, said police received reports of a sudden death at a property on Great King St about 2pm and found a 36-year-old man deceased at the scene. A man has now been charged and will appear at Dunedin District Court this morning, charged with murder. A neighbour told the Herald they were at home Friday afternoon when they heard what they believed was a man’s scream. They said they thought the area where the investigation is taking place was an empty lot. “It’s always just looked like a dump.” Debris and building materials could be seen strewn throughout the area beyond the police cordon. A scene guard remained in place at the weekend as a forensic examination is carried out. Police said initial indications suggested the man had died from “non-accidental injuries”. “There will be an increased Police presence in North Dunedin as we work to establish how the man died, and when,” Low said earlier. Formal identification procedures will be carried out in the coming days as well as a forensic postmortem. A police guard remains in place outside the scene today. Photo / Ben Tomsett If you have any information that can assist police in their investigation, contact them on 105 either over the phone or online and reference the file number 251003/5165. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023. Sun, 05 Oct 2025 20:38:22 Z /news/crime/christchurch-man-charged-after-serious-phillipstown-assault/ /news/crime/christchurch-man-charged-after-serious-phillipstown-assault/ A man has been charged after an assault left one person seriously injured at a Christchurch property. Police said they responded to the serious assault on Olliviers Rd in Phillipstown around 6pm on Friday. “One person at the address was transported to the hospital in a serious condition, while another was taken into custody.” A scene guard remained in place overnight with a scene examination carried out on Saturday. Two neighbours who asked to remain anonymous said there had been a significant police presence in the street since Friday. A neighbour said they arrived home on Friday night to a street flooded with emergency services. Photo / Supplied A neighbour said they arrived home on Friday night to a street flooded with emergency services. “Two officers knocked on my door and said that an incident had happened at around 3.30pm, and did I happen to hear anything,” they said. Another neighbour said police were asking nearby residents if they had seen or heard anything at around 3.30pm on Friday. “All police said was that it was a serious incident. “There was a mobile police unit arrive, we noticed this morning, and a blue tent set up around lunchtime,” they said. “We had police up our drive looking in our rubbish this afternoon.” Police said a 43-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He is set to appear in the Christchurch District Court tomorrow. Sat, 04 Oct 2025 20:12:39 Z /news/crime/whang%C4%81rei-father-and-son-sentenced-in-relation-to-cannabis-operation/ /news/crime/whang%C4%81rei-father-and-son-sentenced-in-relation-to-cannabis-operation/ Police made a sweet discovery when they followed up on a road incident that involved a driver pointing an air rifle at a passing motorist.  Officers tracked the offending vehicle to an Otangarei address, where they soon found a freezer packed with 20kg of cannabis-infused chocolates, and a commercial cannabis operation in full swing.  The offenders at the heart of the crimes were father and son, Kenneth Tipene snr, 59, and Kenneth Tipene jnr, 21.  Now, the pair have narrowly avoided prison after appearing in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing.  The court heard that on October 30 last year, Tipene jnr was driving when he pointed an air rifle out the window of his vehicle at another motorist. There was no mention in court of what might have sparked this offending.  When police tracked the vehicle to an address in Otangarei, Whangārei, they soon uncovered a commercial cannabis operation being run by Tipene snr. Tipene jnr was responsible for selling the product.  The indoor grow set-up spanned two tents, yielding 10 mature cannabis plants and 24 smaller clones.  Police also found 1108 cannabis-infused chocolates, weighing 20kg, inside a chest freezer at the property, with 216g of cannabis.  When the pair were arrested, an officer reportedly said to Tipene jnr, “I bet your dad’s not too happy with you”.  At sentencing, defence lawyer Martin Hislop acknowledged that if Tipene jnr had not pointed the firearm at the motorist, the drug dealing would have never been discovered.  “All the cards fell down,” Hislop said.  Judge Gene Tomlinson took issue with the maximum penalty for presenting a weapon being six months’ imprisonment.  “If I’m me, and I’m driving along in a car and someone pulls an air pistol at me, I’ll tell you right now, I’d be wanting them to go to jail. It’s serious offending,” the judge said.  Tipene jnr faced charges of cannabis dealing, presenting a firearm, and possessing ammunition, while his father was charged with multiple offences related to the cultivation and manufacture of cannabis.  Tipene snr’s lawyer, Jarred Scott, said his client had fallen back on old habits after losing his job.  Scott pointed out that Tipene snr had left the Black Power in the 90s, but his cannabis addiction was a lifelong issue, and he was now engaged with a Salvation Army rehabilitation programme.  Hislop said Tipene jnr accepted full responsibility for his role in the cannabis dealing and did not want all the blame to be placed on his father, who had provided him with good foundations.  “What are you going to do if Dad’s growing drugs?” Judge Tomlinson questioned.  “It’s normalised behaviour.”  The judge acknowledged the work Tipene snr had done to turn his life around from the gangs.  “It’s all about ‘do as I say, not as I do’,” Judge Tomlinson said.  “That’s hard because you feel like a hypocrite, but I acknowledge that, because you’re trying.”  Judge Tomlinson said he understood Tipene snr took pride in being the family provider, and losing his job had driven him to make money illegally.  But the judge said when someone offends in the way he did, “the court’s got to smack you”.  “If you sell it to your mate down the road and then he leaves it lying around and a teenage kid gets it and he takes it to school ... that’s why it’s bad.”  After considering all of the submissions, the judge sentenced Tipene snr to 11 months of home detention and Tipene jnr to nine.  Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined 九一星空无限 in 2023.  Fri, 03 Oct 2025 03:09:32 Z /news/crime/auckland-boarding-house-burnley-lodge-fined-27-500-for-unsafe-unhealthy-conditions/ /news/crime/auckland-boarding-house-burnley-lodge-fined-27-500-for-unsafe-unhealthy-conditions/ An Auckland boarding house operator has been fined nearly $27,500 for multiple breaches over the unsafe and unhealthy state of a Mt Eden residential property. The boarding house, operated by Burnley Lodge Limited, was found to be contaminated with black mould, and spaces not suitable for sleeping had been turned into makeshift bedrooms. The Tenancy Tribunal found the state of the property fell short of the Residential Tenancies Act and was not compliant with the Government’s Healthy Homes Standards. Burnley Lodge has appealed the Tenancy Tribunal order to the District Court. The boarding house, which the tribunal noted had a history of failing to comply with regulatory authorities, had 11 bedrooms over three levels and an extra bedroom in a rear shed. The tribunal found the company had breached its responsibilities by failing to maintain the premises and comply with healthy home standards, operating a boarding house in breach of building health and safety requirements and failing to provide required information in tenancy agreements. Other breaches included mishandling tenant bond payments and failing to produce documents requested by the business ministry. Heavy black mould had been found throughout the Mt Eden property. A restraining order had been issued prohibiting Burnley Lodge Ltd from committing further breaches of its obligations regarding tenancy agreements, bond payments and producing documents to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for four years. Heavy black mould was found throughout the property by MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT), and some of the bedrooms being used were not approved for accommodation. Despite multiple investigations, including from Auckland Council and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the landlord did not take any meaningful action to address the health and safety concerns. The adjudicator said the company’s director, Jonathan Duncan, had made some progress towards compliance, but the actions of previous shareholder Mark Benjamin had caused significant harm. “It is clear that Mr Benjamin is the driving force behind that company,” the adjudicator said, “And it is clear from the evidence MBIE has produced that Mr Benjamin has failed to engage with MBIE in any meaningful way; he has obfuscated, and he has generally been unco-operative.” Some of the bedrooms being used at the property had not been approved for accommodation. TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said landlords did not have a choice in complying with the Residential Tenancies Act. “Burnley Lodge was home to some extremely vulnerable tenants and these tenants have the same rights as any other tenant, while the landlord has the same responsibilities to achieve and maintain compliance. “Boarding houses are a priority for TCIT, and the level of non-compliance at Burnley Lodge was unacceptable. TCIT’s joint work in this case with Auckland Council and [Fire and Emergency], and the tribunal’s decision, sends a clear message that non-compliance will not be tolerated.” Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:20:58 Z /news/crime/joshua-turner-sentenced-in-nelson-court-for-cabin-scam-ordered-to-pay-back-every-cent/ /news/crime/joshua-turner-sentenced-in-nelson-court-for-cabin-scam-ordered-to-pay-back-every-cent/ A man who hired a portable cabin, but then fell behind in payments, sold it through a social media sales site to an unwitting buyer – for a bargain. Joshua Turner sold the $34,500 cabin to a buyer on the West Coast for $8000 plus the expenses he charged to have the cabin moved to an area where she could collect it. Turner, 34, has had an initial year-long sentence commuted to six months’ home detention, so he could pay reparation of just over $13,000 to the victim and the company from which he hired the cabin. Judge Tony Snell said in sentencing him in the Nelson District Court that repaying the money as quickly as possible was the best way to put the victims right for the offending that was “unbelievably brazen and blatant”. “You advertised. You knew what you were doing and you went down the track, including exploiting [the victim] once she had paid you $8000 with extra costs added on,” Judge Snell said. The woman who bought the cabin said in her victim impact statement that the money she had lost was “substantial” to her and her family. “I put my trust in this person that he would do a fair exchange for the money. I had no idea the cabin was stolen. I had to return it, and I now have no cabin and I am down $9350.” Joshua Turner hired a portable cabin like this from Hireworx in the South Island, then sold it on Facebook Marketplace for a bargain. Photo/Hireworx Turner has admitted a charge of theft over $1000, two charges of obtaining by deception and a charge of causing loss by deception over $1000. The court heard that on June 11 last year, Turner signed a 12-month agreement with the South Island division of Hireworx New Zealand – which leases machinery, vehicles, and cabins – for the lease of a portable cabin. Weekly payments were set at $107. The cabin was delivered to Turner’s address in Kaiapoi, Canterbury. Less than two months later, he was $428 behind in payments, and the contract was ended by the company soon after. Police said Turner was told the cabin would be collected the following week, to which Turner replied they could “collect the cabin later that month”. In September, Turner listed the cabin, worth $34,500, for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $5000. A woman who lived on the West Coast messaged him about it and, after negotiations, they agreed on a price of $8000. She made an initial payment that day of $4000 directly to Turner’s bank account. The next day, September 13, Turner requested the remaining $4000 be transferred into his account because his vehicle had broken down and he “needed the money”, police said. The woman transferred the balance, then asked about the location of the cabin for collection. Turner told her the cabin was stored at an address in Kaiapoi, and that he was being charged $150 a day by his landlord to store the cabin there, which meant he had incurred $750 in fees she would need to cover. The woman paid the money, despite Turner not being charged by his landlord for storage, police said. Because the cabin was in a location where the woman was unable to collect it, Turner told her he could get the cabin moved to an area on the street where it could be picked up. He said it would cost $600 because of the fee incurred by the company he planned to use to shift it. She paid the money into his bank account, and Turner then used his landlord’s vehicle to move the cabin at no charge or cost to himself and kept the $600. Hireworx then contacted Turner last November to say the cabin would be collected the following week. Turner said it had already been collected and asked them to stop contacting him. He was later arrested and charged. Judge Snell said Hireworx retrieved the cabin from the woman who had bought it off Turner, but was down $3760 because it needed to restore the cabin a complete state. “It does not account for all of the difficulties they had having to track it down and not getting paid by you,” Judge Snell said in ordering reparation of $9350 to the woman and $3760 to Hireworx. He urged Turner to address the causes of his offending, and to stop “drifting” and make something of himself. “Let this be the turning point and just get on with changing your life around, get yourself a job, move ahead. “Offending in this way will always get you caught, and it will always see you suffer in the end,” Judge Snell said. He would now monitor Turner’s file to ensure he repaid “every cent” of what was owed; otherwise, he would be resentenced and sent to prison. Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at 九一星空无限. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail. Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:46:51 Z /news/crime/nelson-meat-thief-daniel-perring-hid-bacon-down-pants-and-two-legs-of-lamb-in-a-backpack/ /news/crime/nelson-meat-thief-daniel-perring-hid-bacon-down-pants-and-two-legs-of-lamb-in-a-backpack/ A thief in one raid managed to cram two legs of lamb, two packets of pork chops and four packets of sirloin steaks into his backpack. On another occasion, he stashed two packs of bacon down his pants before walking out of the supermarket when his card was declined. “You are in some trouble. There’s no doubt about that,” a judge told Daniel John Perring at his plea appearance in June. Perring, who went on to steal toy cars from a children’s toy store, and who fled from the scene of a minor crash he caused, has a conviction history running over 10 pages. The 29-year-old suffered a “significant workplace injury” when he was 16, from where many of his troubles had stemmed, Judge Garry Barkle noted when sentencing him to prison in the Nelson District Court today. Judge Barkle said Perring had lost his employment and had then struggled to get work, had become “directionless” and started mixing with others described as “less than savoury”. Daniel Perring's offending appears to have sprung from a serious workplace accident when he was a teen, the Nelson District Court heard at his sentencing. Photo / Tracy Neal He was sentenced to 16 months in prison on 20 charges, including burglary, multiple shoplifting offences, plus charges of receiving property worth over $1000, careless driving and failing to stop or check anyone was injured. On December 11, last year, Perring, who held a learner’s licence, was driving intoxicated passengers on SH6 Rocks Rd, around the Nelson waterfront when he got distracted by loose items that fell on him. He then crashed into the back of another vehicle, briefly stopped, then drove off in the cycle lane, undertaking traffic that was at a near standstill. Police said he did not stop to check on the driver or passengers in the vehicle he ran into. It preceded what became a string of Christmas and New Year shoplifting offences. In January this year, Perring was in Woolworths in Richmond when he loaded up his backpack with meat and left without paying. Two days later, he went back to the same store but was intercepted by a manager as he was walking out. After being told to open his backpack, staff found butchery items including lamb chops, sirloin beef and a side of lamb. The items were recovered and Perring was trespassed from the store. He then tried his luck at another supermarket, this time New World in Stoke, where he selected a variety of meat products and placed them in his backpack. Perring then collected two packets of bacon and placed them in his pants before heading to the checkout, where he tried to buy an energy drink. His card was declined and he left the store without paying for the meat in his backpack or the bacon in his pants, worth a total of $182. On January 31, a $2500 e-bike was stolen from outside a Nelson bike shop, after the front wheel was removed through which a security chain was threaded. Some time between then and February 19, Perring came into possession of the stolen bicycle, police said. He was found with the bike in the back of his vehicle, without its front wheel, when police arrested him on a warrant matter. A few days later, on the morning of February 6 this year, he was back at the same supermarket where he selected $239 worth of meat products, placed them in his backpack and went to the checkout. Perring paid for an energy drink he picked up but made no attempt to pay for the meat in his backpack. He was stopped by staff who confronted him as he left the store, and handed over the meat. On March 18, Perring was at Kmart in Richmond, where he grabbed a $49 haircut kit, concealed it in his backpack and left the store. Then, in early April, Perring shifted his focus to a Nelson toy store. He entered Crackerjack Toys, removed his backpack and placed it on the ground behind a display stand at the back of the store. Perring then selected a $110 Lego toy car set and hid it in his backpack. He walked around the store, chose another toy car and hid it in his jumper, then left the store without paying. About half an hour later, Perring returned to the store, where he selected two more toy cars, one of which he put in his backpack and concealed the other in his clothing. All his actions were captured on CCTV, police said. He was back a month later, and browsed the model cars on sale before placing three down the front of his pants, which was again seen on CCTV. A worker confronted Perring and asked him to return the items, which he claimed to have put back on the shelf. He gave the worker a false name and was verbally trespassed while leaving the store with the items still in his pants. Perring then reverted his attention back to supermarkets, where on April 29 he made his way around Pak ‘N Save in Richmond, placing grocery items including steak, cheese, a noodle bowl, an energy drink, plus beauty products and Neurofen medication in his pants and hoodie pockets. He left through a self-service checkout without making any attempt to pay for the groceries. Perring’s final target before he was placed in custody was the Warehouse in Nelson, where he was seen putting a $25 charger down his trousers. His term of imprisonment included sentencing for minor cannabis offending, which arose from his trying to take a bicycle from a bike stand in central Nelson. When he was stopped by the police, they found a small amount of cannabis on him. Perring was also disqualified from driving for eight months on the driving charges. Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at 九一星空无限. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail. Tue, 30 Sept 2025 07:46:10 Z /news/crime/nomads-member-mana-apiti-brown-challenges-gang-patch-ban-saying-it-breaches-his-freedom-of-expression/ /news/crime/nomads-member-mana-apiti-brown-challenges-gang-patch-ban-saying-it-breaches-his-freedom-of-expression/ A Nomads member convicted of wearing his gang insignia while at a community event has upped the ante in his challenge of the patch ban legislation. In his recent fight, Mana-Apiti Brown’s lawyer asked the court to consider how Warriors or All Blacks fans might feel if they were told they couldn’t wear the teams’ supporters’ gear. Brown, 19, has already unsuccessfully appealed his conviction stemming from last year’s event, at which he was caught on camera wearing a gang cap backwards. Now, through his lawyer Chris Nicholls, Brown has continued his challenge of the new law by asking the High Court to issue a declaration of inconsistency. Mana-Apiti Brown of Lower Hutt. Inset of his gang patch cap / Picture supplied. Brown has claimed the Gangs Act is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. If the High Court makes a declaration, and it isn’t appealed, the Attorney-General must notify Parliament. The Minister responsible must then advise the House of the Government’s position on the issue. But the Attorney-General, represented by Austin Powell and Lauryn Sinclair of Crown Law, has questioned the usefulness of a declaration, stating that when the legislation was passed, politicians were made aware that aspects of the legislation were inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Caught on camera Brown, a patched member of the Bad Company chapter of the Nomads gang, was convicted and discharged in December last year after being seen on CCTV in Naenae wearing a cap with gang insignia on it. He was in the town centre as part of a community day to celebrate the reopening of the pool, which had been closed for several years while it was earthquake-strengthened. The Hutt City Council downloaded the footage and reported it to the police, who arrested Brown three days later. Brown told police the cap, which has the words, “YG Easty Mad B.C Nomad” in red writing with a yellow border, was his uncle’s name in the gang’s writing and colour. In March, he unsuccessfully appealed his conviction to the High Court after arguing that a conviction for wearing a cap was entirely disproportionate and breached his individual rights. Now, he’s arguing for his rights of freedom of expression to be recognised so that Parliament might reconsider whether the ban on the display of gang insignia should continue. At today’s hearing in the High Court at Wellington, Nicholls submitted to Justice Cheryl Gwyn that while his client’s conviction was lawful and proper under the Gangs Act, it was still unlawful because it cut across the fundamental right to freedom of expression under the Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which New Zealand ratified in 1978. Nicholls told the court that Brown’s actions that day were on the margins of criminal offending, yet he would be tarred with a conviction for the rest of his life. “My client’s rights have been impinged upon for wearing a cap,” he said, adding that very few would associate the writing with the Nomads gang. “What 19-year-old doesn’t wear a cap down to the shops? It’s perfectly normal teenage behaviour. Whether they are wearing a rugby league cap, a Bunnings cap, or a Nomads cap, it reflects the age and stage that they are at.” He said that in wearing the cap, his client was expressing a fundamental human right to express who they are by what they wear. And he submitted this wasn’t an isolated case, telling the court that around the country, the police were “going hard.” He cited the case of another client, a Mongrel Mob member, who was sitting in the Pak and Save carpark in Petone, north of Wellington. While moving from the front seat to the back seat of the car, he was caught on CCTV wearing his gang T-shirt. Police sought a search warrant and not only seized the man’s T-shirt, but also went into his house and searched his washing pile and drawers looking for the shorts and socks he was wearing that day. Nichollas submitted that there was an obvious disconnect between this activity and the purposes of the Gangs Act, which sought to reduce the ability of gangs to operate and to cause “fear, retaliation, and disruption to the public.” He said the law cut into an individual’s right of freedom and expression, and when it was passed, Parliament hadn’t fully considered the implications the law would have. “In a nutshell, it goes too far.” He asked the judge to consider how Warriors fans would feel if the Government said they couldn’t wear their Warriors jerseys around town anymore, or a law was passed stopping the All Blacks from wearing their black jerseys because the opposition found them too intimidating. “The gangs are being made out to be different, but when the principal is applied to other groups in the community, the impact of those rights becomes apparent. “It’s the right to be free, to be human, and to express our rights in the world. “This law is affecting a large number of New Zealanders probably every day in New Zealand, and hence there is utility in bringing this to Parliament’s attention in addition to the personal remedy my client is seeking.” The rule of law applies to all In response, Powell submitted that there would be a lack of utility in making a declaration and that to do so would be inconsistent with the principle of comity. Powell also submitted that the court would have difficulty in making a declaration of inconsistency in this case, because it would create the impression that a conviction for a law that arguably breached the Bill of Rights was different from a law that didn’t breach it. “The rule of law applies to all,” he said. He also submitted that it wasn’t enough to say the law had been passed and was creating problems, so Parliament should look at it again. That was the function of the Ministry of Justice, not the courts, he said. Powell urged the court to show restraint and to use its discretion to withhold a declaration of inconsistency in this case. “The court is saying you passed a law that is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, and what is the utility in doing that when the law was passed knowing that?” he said. Sinclair also submitted that domestic courts can’t make declarations of inconsistency with the ICCPR. At the conclusion of the hearing, Justice Gwyn thanked counsel for their submissions, adding that it was an interesting and difficult issue, before indicating she would reserve her decision. Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice. Tue, 30 Sept 2025 03:14:32 Z /news/crime/ex-casketeers-star-fiona-bakulich-appeals-prison-term-over-funeral-fraud/ /news/crime/ex-casketeers-star-fiona-bakulich-appeals-prison-term-over-funeral-fraud/ Disgraced former funeral director Fiona Tania Bakulich, who went from featuring in a hit reality TV programme to life behind bars, has cited her celebrity inmate status as one of the reasons she is now seeking a do-over before a new judge. Bakulich, 49, was sentenced in Auckland District Court in April to two years and three months’ imprisonment after admitting to swindling multiple clients and mishandling human remains. Today, her lawyer appeared in the High Court at Auckland to argue that the earlier sentence was manifestly excessive. She is hoping to have her sentence reduced to less than two years, which would allow Justice David Johnstone to substitute a sentence of electronically monitored home detention. Appellate lawyer Susan Gray said today that her client has been in voluntary segregation in prison for most of the time since her sentencing due to her fear regarding threats from other prisoners who recognised her. “Her experience in prison is very different from that of other prisoners,” Gray argued, explaining that Bakulich had been subjected to “a campaign of vitriolic hate speech against her”. “Her experience in prison, in my submission, has been disproportionately severe.” At the time of the offending, Bakulich worked for Tipene Funerals and was featured in The Casketeers, a reality TV show about the business. Company owners Kaiora and Francis Tipene, who star in the show, have not been accussed of any wrongdoing. Court documents state Bakulich swindled grieving families out of about $18,000 altogether, starting with a $3000 charge in 2017 to line a loved one’s casket in zinc. “You gladly pocketed the money. You did not line the casket,” sentencing Judge Evangelos Thomas told Bakulich earlier this year, pointing out that the deceased was instead wrapped in plastic. “The family’s loved one was buried and no one would have ever known.” But the burial site was disturbed by a flood six years later during Cyclone Gabrielle “and your fraud was distressingly revealed for all to see”, Judge Thomas said. Another grieving family was targeted in October 2021, when Bakulich “tricked” the victims into paying $7000 extra for what she claimed was a breach of Covid-19 regulations during the funeral. “That was all a lie,” Judge Thomas said. “You gladly pocketed that money as well.” Fiona Bakulich pleaded guilty to swindling clients after Cyclone Gabrielle flooding exposed irregularities at Waikumete Cemetery. Photos / Michael Craig / Facebook In September 2022, another family was charged $1150 after Bakulich falsely claimed the body had to be treated for Covid-19. And from August 2022 to January 2024, she targeted seven more families, claiming payments were necessary because the law required her to inject their deceased loved ones with immunisations. No such law existed, nor would an immunisation have any effect on a corpse, authorities noted. She pleaded guilty to two counts of interfering with a grave or human remains, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment, and 12 charges of obtaining by deception. She faced up to seven years’ imprisonment for three of the fraud charges involving anounts over $1000. Backulich did not attend today’s hearing, which is not unusual when an appelant is incarcerated, but family and supporters filled the courtroom gallery. Gray said she had no issue with the district court sentencing judge’s assessment that the offending was extremely serious and that the victims were highly vulnerable. But the judge’s 5% reduction for the defendant’s remorse was inadequate, the lawyer argued. And there should have been reductions for mental illness as well, she said. Gray provided to the court a new psychological report suggesting that Bakulich suffers complex post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from childhood trauma with related signs of depression and anxiety. Tipene Funerals former undertaker Fiona Bakulich during sentencing at the Auckland District Court. Bakulich’s sister provided an affidavit to the court backing up the defendant’s account of growing up in a dysfunctional household marred by domestic violence and a mother who encouraged dishonesty. She has started to receive therapy to address the trauma, but it stopped abruptly when she went to prison, Gray said. It could continue immediately if she were to instead receive home detention, she suggested. Gray also provided the court with copies of media coverage and social media comments on the case, which she said exacerbated Bakulich’s difficulties in prison. She noted that the Herald, which broke the story prior to charges being laid, has since issued a correction regarding the wording of some past reporting. As for Bakulich’s remorse, Gray noted that a pre-sentence report writer had earlier described her as “deeply ashamed and genuinely remorseful”. And in the psychological report filed for the appeal, she was also observed as having deep remorse. Gray noted that her client could also show remorse through restitution. While Bakulich didn’t have money to pay reparations to the victims at the time of sentencing, she now had $4000 available to pay and could make further payments once released and back on her feet, she explained. Back in April, however, Judge Thomas had said it wasn’t about the money. “What they [the victims] wanted was peace and dignity and respect for their loved ones,” he explained. “Taking their money is not where you caused the harm, and that is what differentiates this case... This offending had deep emotional consequences for people, not financial consequences. They talk about how vulnerable they were.” Auckland District Court Judge Evangelos Thomas. Photo / Sylvie Whinray There was a distinctive cruelty to “robbing people at their worst time”, the judge said. “You looked them so softly in the eye and stabbed them so ruthlessly in the back. That is what really got them. That, you cannot fix. That, money does not fix.” Crown prosecutor Kasey Nihill said today that the sentencing judge’s assessment wasn’t wrong. In a case involving such prolonged offending and such vulnerable victims, a sentence was needed that reflected deterrence and denunciation, she said. She noted that Judge Thomas has seen a distinction between true remorse for her victims and shame for having let down her supporters. The judge had also pointed to Bakulich having made a “number of excuses” in her pre-sentence interview, the prosecutor pointed out. Justice Johnstone reserved his decision. Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand. Tue, 30 Sept 2025 00:12:38 Z /news/crime/four-arrested-after-firearms-found-in-whanganui-search-warrant-operation/ /news/crime/four-arrested-after-firearms-found-in-whanganui-search-warrant-operation/ Whanganui police have seized nine firearms in a search warrant operation, resulting in the arrests of four people. The firearms, including .22 calibre rifles, .308 calibre and other high-powered rifles, were found during a search of a Puriri St property on September 25. A small cannabis growing operation was also found at the property. One of the firearms seized in the search warrant operation. Photo / NZ Police Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Carey Priest, from the Whanganui Criminal Investigation Branch, said the items were found throughout the house, shed and in a roof space. “Officers found a significant number of items and arrested four people, one of whom had a warrant out for her arrest,” Priest said. “The seizure of these items is an excellent result from a combination of police teams including the Armed Offenders Squad, Criminal Investigation Branch, Offender Prevention Team and Tactical Crime Unit. “Some of these firearms had been stolen during a burglary the day prior; other items stolen during that burglary were also recovered.” Police urge people to report suspicious or illegal activity to 111 if it is happening live, or complete an online report or call 105. Information can also be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 0800 555 111. Mon, 29 Sept 2025 01:29:57 Z /news/crime/its-been-rough-popular-auckland-kayak-shop-targeted-for-ice-creams-and-cookies-worth-150/ /news/crime/its-been-rough-popular-auckland-kayak-shop-targeted-for-ice-creams-and-cookies-worth-150/ Police have arrested a man after a kayak business on Auckland’s waterfront was broken into three times in just one week. The owner of Fergs Kayaks on Tamaki Dr is now facing thousands in costs to repair the windows the offender allegedly smashed through to steal ice cream and cookies. A 25-year-old has been charged with at least one count of burglary after the owner caught them in the act, watching the security cameras that had just been set up hours prior. Director of Fergs Kayaks, Ed Hides, said spending three mornings sweeping glass among the children attending their popular school holiday programme had been “rough”. The owner of Fergs Kayaks, Ed Hides, said the damage will cost at least $2500. Photo/ Supplied The windows would cost at least $2500 to replace, he told the Herald, which was hard to process given the thief only came away with $150 worth of “trivial” items like cookies and ice cream. He said winter had been long and they were just turning the corner towards their busy season. Hides said they set up security cameras after the first two break-ins and was watching the cameras from home on his phone when he saw someone strike again, smashing the windows for a third time to gain entry. He immediately called the police, who were able to catch up with them a short time later. Ed Hides was left sweeping up glass over the past week at Fergs Kayaks while running their popular school holiday programme. Hides said he works closely with community projects who help disadvantaged people, including criminals, so being on the other side of things had been eye-opening. “It conflicts me... on one hand I really feel for them and their situation, but on the other this has been really hard for me and my business.” Hides said the outpouring of support from the community has been “genuinely amazing”. “We are kind of maybe thinking about putting together a little bit of a fundraising night to try and raise some funds for the damages, and the new security system which were a super unexpected expense at the start of the summer and after a pretty long winter.” He said they were considering putting together a comedy night at the shop with a raffle, as some in the community have already offered to donate prizes. A police spokesperson confirmed a 25-year-old was facing a charge of burglary for one of the incidents. He is due to appear in the Auckland District Court. They said inquiries into the other burglaries remain ongoing. Sun, 28 Sept 2025 23:02:50 Z /news/crime/homicide-investigation-launched-after-gisborne-death-police-seek-person-running-from-area/ /news/crime/homicide-investigation-launched-after-gisborne-death-police-seek-person-running-from-area/ A homicide investigation has been launched after a man found injured at a Gisborne address this morning subsequently died. Police were called to an Ormond Rd address, between Lytton Rd and Riperata St, shortly after 4am and found the injured 36-year-old man on the on the front lawn of the property. Tairāwhiti Area Commander Inspector, Danny Kirk, said police rendered first aid and he was taken to Gisborne Hospital where he later died. “Police have now launched a homicide investigation and are following several lines of inquiry,” Kirk said. “A person was seen running across Ormond Rd and into Riperata St soon after the incident occurred, and we would like to speak with them. A homicide inquiry was started yesterday after a man was found with critical injuries on the front yard on a property in outer Ormond Road. He died later in hospital. Photo / Murray Robertson “The investigation team will be in the area carrying out inquiries over the coming days, but we ask anyone with information, or who heard or saw the incident, to please contact us. “I know this will cause some unease in our community, but we are working hard to find the person or people responsible.” Kirk said police officers will have a visible presence in the area. Information can be shared by making a report online, calling 105 or by visiting a Police station. Please reference Operation Bushman, or the file number 250929/9035. Alternatively, information can be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers(link is external) by calling 0800 555 111. Earlier, police had cordoned off the address on Ormond Rd and asked locals to avoid the area. A cordon on Ormond Rd, Gisborne, after a homicide investigation was launched on September 29, 2025. NZ Herald photograph by James Pocock Sun, 28 Sept 2025 22:50:00 Z /news/crime/police-presence-in-western-heights-after-alleged-assault-then-crash/ /news/crime/police-presence-in-western-heights-after-alleged-assault-then-crash/ A large police presence remains in Western Heights after an alleged assault of a woman and a crash this morning. Police were called to Fairview Rd in Western Heights about 9am, a spokeswoman said. “It is believed a woman was assaulted and the alleged offender fled in a vehicle. “A short time later, the vehicle has collided with a fence on Park Rd,” she said. The man abandoned the vehicle and was later arrested. Police said the woman received moderate injuries and was taken to hospital. A witness who did not wish to be named said there was a “massive police presence” on Fairview Rd just off Steeles Lane. He said an area of a house was cordoned off, with “heaps of police and ambulances” present. He said people were crying and looked in shock. A police spokeswoman said there would be a police presence while inquiries continue. Fri, 26 Sept 2025 03:39:02 Z /news/crime/car-swiped-from-auckland-s-k-rd-while-driver-collects-food-order-41-year-old-woman-charged/ /news/crime/car-swiped-from-auckland-s-k-rd-while-driver-collects-food-order-41-year-old-woman-charged/ A driver collecting a late-night food order on Auckland’s popular K’Rd strip was left without a vehicle after an opportunistic thief allegedly swiped the driver’s car.  Auckland City Police senior sergeant Tony Turner said the vehicle was stolen from Karangahape Rd while the driver was busy picking up the meal at 12.25am.  Turner said camera operators tracked the car’s movements as it travelled on New North Rd through to Morningside before continuing into Kingsland.  “Police units, supported by the Eagle helicopter, responded quickly and were able to block the vehicle in.”  Two people inside the car were taken into custody.  Turner said a 41-year-old woman was due to appear at Auckland District Court today charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and driving with excess breath alcohol.  He also said this served as a reminder to would-be car thieves that police and their partner agencies would “continue to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, and we will respond accordingly”.  “This is a great example of staff working hard to hold those responsible to account for this type of crime in our communities.”  Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.  Thu, 25 Sept 2025 22:32:18 Z /news/crime/man-sentenced-for-possession-of-sexual-exploitation-material-of-children-as-young-as-5-years-old/ /news/crime/man-sentenced-for-possession-of-sexual-exploitation-material-of-children-as-young-as-5-years-old/ An Auckland man has been sentenced to nine months’ home detention for the possession of child sexual exploitation material, including images of children as young as 5 years old. Lee Irving Musham pleaded guilty to one representative charge of knowingly possessing objectionable publications in the form of child sexual exploitation material. The sentence was delivered in the Manukau District Court yesterday. An investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Digital Child Exploitation Team led to search warrants being executed at Musham’s residential and business addresses. Several electronic devices, containing sexual exploitation images of children as young as 5 years old, bestiality, and computer-generated files promoting bestiality, were seized. Despite his offending, Musham is not required to register as a child sex offender. The devices used to commit the offending were ordered to be destroyed. “Collecting and viewing this material is not passive offending. It condones the abuse children suffer to satisfy the market for these images,” the manager of the Digital Child Exploitation Team, Tim Houston, said. “One way we work to put an end to this form of child abuse is to stop those who create, collect and distribute this material.” Last year, 69 investigations into child exploitation were conducted, which helped to safeguard 14 children from harm, the department said. The Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System blocked over one million attempts to access websites hosting child sexual abuse material, it added. Thu, 25 Sept 2025 08:54:35 Z /news/crime/friend-s-mum-says-girl-turned-up-after-fleeing-whang%C4%81rei-oranga-tamariki-caregivers/ /news/crime/friend-s-mum-says-girl-turned-up-after-fleeing-whang%C4%81rei-oranga-tamariki-caregivers/ WARNING: This article discusses allegations of child abuse and may be upsetting to some readers. On a chilly evening, a distressed young girl turned up unannounced at a friend’s home – cold, hungry and nursing a sore arm. Her arrival sparked a police investigation that has led to a child abuse trial involving 35 charges against a Whangārei couple entrusted with the care of vulnerable children. Now before the Whangārei District Court, the husband and wife face allegations of violence and cruelty towards children placed in their care as far back as 2012. As registered Oranga Tamariki caregivers they had multiple children living with them over the years and four key witnesses are expected to testify about their experiences in the household. The alleged offending came to light when a child, Sally*, ran away and a friend’s mother alerted police. An investigation was opened, leading police to other children who had been in the couple’s care at various stages. Eighteen of the charges relate to Sally, who referred to the accused as Mum and Dad. She alleges she was hit with a stick, burnt with a lighter, slapped and punched. A key incident in the trial has revolved around a cellphone Sally reportedly found at the Warehouse. She told police that when she tried to hand the phone in to security, they advised her to take it to police, but instead she took it home. When she got home, her parents became suspicious she was hiding something in her T-shirt and an altercation allegedly occurred. Sally said her mother began hitting her and when the phone dropped out, she was thrown into a corner. The girl then ran away, catching a bus and hitch-hiking to a friend’s house on the other side of Whangārei. On Wednesday, her friend’s mother gave evidence to the court of what she recalled from the night Sally turned up at her home. She said she invited the girl in as it was a cold night and she did not have much clothing on. “That’s when the story unfolded that she had run away from home,” the woman told the court. “She had said they had pulled her hair and that was the first thing that indicated something not nice had happened. “A little later in the conversation it became noticeable that her arm was sore and she said her arm had been pulled when they had tried to restrain her and stop her running away.” Sally confided in the woman that she hadn’t eaten for two days, explaining her mother often called her fat, which made her feel uneasy about eating. The trial at Whangārei District Court may now run for four weeks. Although Sally asked her not to, the woman contacted police and told the court what she heard Sally disclose to an officer. “She said they took turns restraining her and punched and hit her in the head and back,” she said. The woman noted that while she didn’t observe any visible injuries, Sally was clutching her arm and mentioned it was hurting. Lawyer Douglas Blaikie, who is representing the wife, put to the woman that Sally could have been “putting it on”. “I don’t believe she was putting it on,” she responded. “I could see a very terrified girl in front of me who had run a very long way.” Last week, a doctor who examined Sally at Whangārei Hospital after the alleged assault testified about her findings. She reported that Sally was experiencing pain in her left arm, hand and central abdomen and also felt discomfort while breathing. “I did not see bruising in my examination but there were other findings indicative of previous trauma,” she said. She also noted the girl had a scar below her knee, which Sally reported was from a burn allegedly inflicted by the caregivers. Another child in their care, Mary*, has testified in relation to 11 charges concerning her treatment. Among the allegations, she claims the couple restrained her and forced chilli into her mouth. She also reports being physically assaulted multiple times and gave evidence she was allegedly confined to a room without food for three days. Three additional children will testify about what they observed in the household, which may extend the trial to four weeks – one week longer than originally planned. Judge Greg Davis initially closed the courtroom to accommodate the children’s testimonies but has since reopened the proceedings to the public. FAMILY VIOLENCE How to get help: If you're in danger now: • Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.• Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you.• Take the children with you. Don't stop to get anything else.• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.Where to go for help or more information:• Women's Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7)• Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7)• It's Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450• Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children.• Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7)• Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence• Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services• White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women.How to hide your visit:If you are reading this information on the Herald website and you're worried that someone using the same computer will find out what you've been looking at, you can follow the steps at the link here to hide your visit. Each of the websites above also has a section that outlines this process. Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined 九一星空无限 in 2023. Thu, 25 Sept 2025 08:27:21 Z /news/crime/judge-jails-serial-thief-tessa-heta-after-nine-month-crime-spree-across-nelson-tasman/ /news/crime/judge-jails-serial-thief-tessa-heta-after-nine-month-crime-spree-across-nelson-tasman/ An “unrelenting” shoplifter and petrol thief tried to pay for $139 worth of fuel on a Work and Income card. When the transaction was declined Tessa Frances Heta told the fuel station attendant she needed to contact her Winz case manager. She was asked to move her vehicle off the forecourt of the Nelson fuel station, and then sort payment inside. Instead, Heta got into her car, drove off, then blamed her partner who was “agitated” and had told her what to do, she later told police. The 36-year-old was sentenced in the Nelson District Court this week to just over a year in prison on 32 dishonesty charges collected over the course of a nine-month crime spree; 12 were for petrol drive-offs. Between last October and this July, Heta, also known as Tessa Croft, stole $5086 worth of items from supermarkets and retail stores, plus petrol from various service stations where she drove off without paying. Her preferred items were clothing, jewellery, meat and fuel but there was also a power tool from Mitre 10 and sanding disks from Bunnings, the 25-page police summary of facts showed. Serial shoplifter Tessa Heta has been sentenced in the Nelson District Court to just over a year in prison. Most of the offending happened while she was on bail. Photo / Tracy Neal Judge Tony Snell said during sentencing that 14 of the charges related to the theft of groceries and goods, 12 were for petrol drive-offs, two were drink-drive matters, one for being an unlicensed driver and the remainder for using a document for a pecuniary advantage. The first tranche of offending was in October last year, when Heta and an associate took $327 worth of clothing and jewellery from The Warehouse in Nelson. Despite a warning from the court to stop, her latest offending, while on bail in July this year, involved a spree at supermarkets in Motueka. Judge Snell said that because of what he described as her “unrelenting offending”, she ended up in custody. She was also sentenced on driving charges. The 36-year-old had been forbidden to drive in 2018 until she got a proper licence. Early on March 1 this year, a vehicle was pulled over by the police in central Nelson. The two people in the car, including Heta, appeared drunk. The driver was taken to the police station for screening but a few hours later, the same vehicle was seen on CCTV parking outside the police station. They found Heta at the wheel, at three times the limit with a breath alcohol reading of 758 mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. Early on June 1 this year, Heta was driving through central Nelson on her way to Tapawera, 58km away, and was waved down by the police because her headlights were off. She was found close to three times the legal limit with a blood alcohol reading of 136mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Judge Snell said in sentencing Heta, that one theft in particular had “seriously inconvenienced” the victim. Heta was a passenger in a car that by chance, passed a cafe where two women had been seated outside, but left behind a bag when they moved indoors. It contained an iPhone, various credit and debit cards plus cash and other items. Heta got out of the vehicle and picked up the bag, removed the cash and cards then dumped it in a toilet block in Nelson’s Buxton Square carpark. The spending spree she then went on, including $683 worth of Prezzy cards in multiple transactions. Judge Snell said it was pointless ordering her to pay full reparation because she had little scope of being able to pay it, and any order would be a debt trap. A small amount had been repaid, Heta’s lawyer Ian Miller said. Heta claimed that most of her offending was driven by “pressure and intimidation” by a former partner, and that being in custody had allowed her to be alcohol-free and to come to regret the offending. Judge Snell reminded Heta that shoplifting was not a victimless crime, and that “everyone paid” through price increases that retailers needed to impose to cover losses caused by “people like you”. Heta was given discounts at sentencing for her guilty pleas and her personal circumstances, landing her an end sentence of 12.5 months in prison. She was granted leave to apply for home detention, if a suitable address could be found, including at residential rehabilitation. Because she had served time in custody, Heta would be eligible for release in just over two months. She was also disqualified from driving for eight months, and convicted and discharged on the charge of driving while forbidden. Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at 九一星空无限. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail. Thu, 25 Sept 2025 03:43:53 Z /news/crime/jade-oldridge-sentenced-for-her-role-in-the-death-of-partner-dean-kahukiwa/ /news/crime/jade-oldridge-sentenced-for-her-role-in-the-death-of-partner-dean-kahukiwa/ The lawyer for a woman whose Mongrel Mob partner was shot dead after she asked her uncle to “smash” him says she was under threat and had no way of knowing how events would unfold. Jade Arohanui Oldridge, 29, was today sentenced in the High Court at Wellington for her part in Dean Kahukiwa’s death. The 32-year-old was shot five times in his Horowhenua home in September 2023 in retribution for a beating he had allegedly meted out to her. His body wasn’t discovered until nine days later, when firefighters were called to a fire at the Reeve St house in Foxton. Four people have already been sentenced in relation to Kahukiwa’s death, including Quentin Waho-Marsden, 27, who must serve at least 17 years for his murder. Oldridge, whose hearing couldn’t proceed with the others because of an issue over her bail address, was sentenced on a charge of injuring with intent to injure. According to the summary of facts, Oldridge was taken to Lower Hutt Hospital two days before the killing after she was beaten, but left before being assessed or receiving treatment. She and Kahukiwa spent the following day in Lower Hutt, visiting family and friends before returning home to Foxton. The next day, Monday, September 18, they were at home. The summary said Oldridge referred to Teresa McKenzie and William Hines as aunty and uncle. That morning, she messaged McKenzie saying, “Aunty cn u tell uncle cme nine Please And smash this c***.” Oldridge then called her aunty, which was followed by a text message saying, “Cn come mine aunty please.” McKenzie responded immediately saying; “I let uncle no now baby”, to which Oldridge responded, “Please aunty now.” Dean Kahukiwa, 32, was killed at his home in Foxton in September 2023. McKenzie responded, saying, “he’s coming now my baby.” The pair continued to text each other, with McKenzie telling Oldridge, “Don’t let him know your uncles on his way but don’t tell him he will f sort it” followed by “love you my baby”. “I haven’t told him aunty,” Oldridge responded. After those text messages, Hines and his associate Waho-Marsden met at the house in Reeve St, Foxton. They approached the house together, and Kahukiwa answered the door wearing only a towel. While Hines remained outside, Waho-Marsden walked inside carrying a gun and shot Kahukiwa five times with a .22 calibre firearm. One round pierced his heart. Hines was jailed for six and a half years after admitting a charge of manslaughter. Things got out of control Today, Oldridge’s lawyer Paul Paino told the High Court she hadn’t set out to hurt her partner, but sent the texts because she was being threatened by him. She reached out to a member of her family, something she’d never done before, because Kahukiwa’s behaviour was also out of character. Things had got out of control and she could not have predicted what happened, he said. “The family has obviously lost someone who was very popular and loved. I just want the court to understand she loved him and she lost him as well,” he said. The extent of the family’s loss was evident in the victim impact statement prepared by Kahukiwa’s brother, Wayne Tohiariki, on behalf of the family. The statement, which was read out at the earlier sentencing, made it clear the family were not only deeply saddened by Kahukiwa’s death, but hold Oldridge responsible for setting off the chain of events that led to it. “I hope the justice system sees Jade for what she is and what she did,” it said.William Hines (left) and Quentin Waho-Marsden (right) at their sentencings for the killing of Dean Kahukiwa. At sentencing, Justice Karen Grau acknowledged that while she understood the family’s view, Oldridge’s involvement in sending the texts was to have Kauhkiwa beaten up and she did not expect him to be seriously injured or killed. Crown prosecutor Emma Ferrier said while the court had to be mindful of the charge the defendant was being sentenced for, it could also take into account the injury involved – being the death of Kahukiwa in his own home. She also noted the aggravating features in the case, including the vigilante action and the degree of premeditation by sending multiple text messages. In mitigation, Justice Grau acknowledged that Oldridge had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty. She also allowed a discount for Oldridge’s immaturity, saying that explained, in part, her decision to contact family members in the way she had. But she did not accept Oldridge had shown remorse, suggesting she’d attempted to distance herself from the offending and didn’t accept the summary of facts she’d pleaded guilty to. Justice Grau did accept that Oldridge felt sorrow for the loss of her partner, noting that situations involving domestic violence were often complex. Adopting a starting point of two years’ jail, the judge reduced that to 16 months, leaving open the option of a non-custodial sentence. The Crown submitted that a sentence of home detention was the least restrictive, while the defence argued that a sentence of community detention was a more practical alternative, placing less strain on Oldridge’s whānau, whom she would be living with. Justice Grau noted that while she had some concerns about an electronically monitored sentence, Corrections had recommended Oldridge be given that opportunity. “In my view, a sentence of community detention with intensive supervision is the least restrictive outcome,” Justice Grau said, adding that this had the best prospects of success. In sentencing Oldridge to six months’ community detention with a nightly curfew, coupled with 24 months’ intensive supervision, the judge warned Oldridge that any issues of non-compliance risked her being sent to jail. Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice. Wed, 24 Sept 2025 08:39:38 Z /news/crime/giant-red-flags-how-a-womans-promising-job-led-to-money-laundering-convictions/ /news/crime/giant-red-flags-how-a-womans-promising-job-led-to-money-laundering-convictions/ A woman’s financial hardship and digital skills led her to take up a promising job offer, but it quickly unravelled and left her with money laundering convictions. Kimberley Dow, 36, appeared for sentencing in the Kaikohe District Court on Friday on charges related to her role in an international scam. In March 2023, Dow began working for Webnetic Trendz Technologies after applying on the Singapore job site, Grabjobs.co. She was instructed to open four bank accounts and when clients paid money she was to keep 10-12% and transfer the remainder to a bank account in Britain. All of the accounts were opened in her name. In April 2023, four victims received phone calls from unknown men posing as employees of legitimate New Zealand web hosting companies. On one occasion, “Jack” promised he would fix a victim’s website but she had to pay a fee and was sent a fake invoice with Dow’s bank account. Another time, “Bronson” called a victim and told her she was required to pay a $1500 website renewal fee. Feeling under pressure, the victim transferred the money, again to Dow’s account, but the next day she called the real Bronson, who advised it had not been him she had spoken with. “Jack” and another scammer, who went by the name of “Aaron”, called two other victims with similar scams and sent fake invoices for payment with Dow’s bank account. The woman was found guilty by a jury earlier in the year in the Kaikohe District Court. Photo / 九一星空无限 For each of the deposits, which totalled $5717, Dow transferred funds to the offshore account. Police were alerted to the scam and Dow told them during an interview she had reported the company to the Serious Fraud Office. Her case went to trial in the Kaikohe District Court earlier this year. She was found guilty of 10 charges related to money laundering and receiving property and acquitted on two. At sentencing, Judge Gene Tomlinson said, at first, Dow did not know the operation was a scam. “She was played like the victims were but she was reckless thereafter because she had a much better opportunity to realise and take action,” he said. “She’s bright, but you can be bright and naive.” Crown lawyer Danica Soich said Dow had a symbiotic relationship with the scammers and she had significant knowledge and training in cyber security. “One could not exist without the other,” Soich said. “She’s not a little old grandma down the street who’s got an email. She’s got special knowledge.” Defence lawyer Sam McDonald said Dow’s life had taken a turn after the Christchurch earthquakes when she had to relocate to Kaitāia. She was fluent in Japanese and had planned to study in Japan, but after moving to Kaitāia she struggled to find employment. “There’s a big difference between dishonesty offending when you are poor and dishonesty offending when you are rich,” McDonald said. “This is about economic disadvantage, this is not about greed and this is not about sophisticated white-collar crime. “This is a sad set of circumstances for a young woman with potential.” Judge Tomlinson said Dow was reckless because she ignored the red flags. “You desperately did not want this to be dodgy and you wanted it to be okay so you kind of ignored the signs. “And when you want something, you blinker yourself off to things that should be giant red flags.” Judge Tomlinson acknowledged Dow was an unwilling victim of the scammers. “They were persuasive people, but you were never going to get away with this, Ms Dow,” he said. Dow was sentenced to six months’ community detention, supervision and ordered to pay reparation to the victims. Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined 九一星空无限 in 2023. Sun, 21 Sept 2025 22:40:41 Z