Matua Kahurangi

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Matua Kahurangi
Matua Kahurangi
The faces behind the horror

The faces behind the horror

A list of those who killed our tamariki

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Matua Kahurangi
Jun 17, 2025
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Matua Kahurangi
Matua Kahurangi
The faces behind the horror
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Over the past few days, I began compiling what has easily been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write. It’s a record of murdered children in Aotearoa. Reading through the details of how these innocent tamariki were killed left me feeling deeply disturbed. Yesterday’s post focused on the victims – their names, their faces, and the heartbreaking stories of lives taken far too soon.

Māori children were overwhelmingly represented on that list.

A nation of tiny graves

Matua Kahurangi
·
Jun 16
A nation of tiny graves

I've compiled a list of children killed in New Zealand from 2006 to the present. This is not a complete record, as many child homicide cases have name suppression. As you read through the names of the victims, and in some cases the offenders, you may begin to notice a pattern. The level of violence inflicted on children in this country is appalling.

Read full story

Today, I’ve turned to the other side – the offenders. The ones responsible for these horrific acts. The murderers, the abusers, the monsters. I need to warn you now: this list is far from complete. Many of these offenders have name suppression, often for years. But from what is public, a confronting pattern emerges. Just like the victims, the majority of these offenders are Māori.

Putting this list together took a toll. I read about babies burnt alive, toddlers stomped on, children thrown, bashed, strangled, tortured. Some stories left me shaking. I won’t lie, I needed a few rums on the rocks after compiling this. However, I think this work matters. It deserves to be seen.

The mainstream media has, at times, published lists of child homicide victims. I’ve yet to see a list that names the offenders. We all know why that is. As soon as you start scrolling, the pattern becomes clear, Māori are heavily over represented.

Here is the list.

A list of child killers in New Zealand


Natasha Peterson
Victim: Cheyenne Peterson, 18 months old

Drug-addled mother who left her baby to die - NZ Herald

Michael Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Nia Glassie murder: One of the brothers jailed for toddler's killing to  remain in prison | Stuff

Wiremu Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Michael Curtis. Photo / Alan Gibson

Lisa Kuka
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Lisa Kuka, Nia Glassie's mother. Photo / Stephen Parker

Michael Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Wiremu Curtis. Photo / Alan Gibson

Orini Kemp
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Oriwa Kemp was jailed over the 2007 child-abuse death of Nia Glassie. Photo / Michael Craig

Michael Pearson
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old

Michael Pearson. Photo / Stephen Parker

Tiana Mary-Anne Odesa Kapea
Victim: Jyniah Te Awa, 10-months-old

Killer babysitter Tiana Kapea denied parole at first appearance before the  board - NZ Herald

Gustav Otto Sanft
Victim: Amokura Daniels-Sanft, 2-years-old

South Auckland dad who fatally shot daughter in head denied parole | Stuff

Azees Mahomed
Victim: Tahani Mahomed, 11-weeks-old

Father guilty of murdering daughter | Otago Daily Times Online News

Patricia Pickering
Victim: Dylan Rimoni, 3-years-old

Conviction sticks for toddler killer | Stuff

Johnny Joachim
Victim: Duwayne Pajlegutu, 7-years-old

Child killer Johnny Joachim's chilling murder confession | Stuff

Kyle Skerten
Victim: Riley Osborne, 16-months-old

Kyle Skerten during his manslaughter trial. Photo / Northern Advocate

Joanne Jasmine Tahuri

Victim: Cherishsiliala Tahuri-Wright, 3-years-old

Gran jailed for death | Stuff

Adam Christopher Lock
Victim: Jayrhis Lock-Tata, 5-weeks-old

Man's sentence for fatally shaking son too short - mother - NZ Herald

Norefjell Davis
Victim: Jacqui Petersen Davis, 2-years-old

Mum: Lover caused toddler's death - NZ Herald

Kelly Percy
Victim: Hail-Sage McClutchie, 22-months-old


Rikki Ngatai-Check
Victim: Karl Perigo-Check, 2-years-old

Jailed over kicking child to death | Stuff

Deepak Nagpai
Victim: Anna Sangha, 2-years-old

Deepak Nagpal pleaded guilty to the murders of Ravneet Sangha and her daughter Anna Sangha. File photo / Alan Gibson

Kefu Ikamanu
Victim: Ikamanu , 2-years-old

Father gives mixed accounts of girl's injuries - NZ Herald

James Allan Hemana
Victim: Cezar Taylor, 6-months-old

James Hemana

Kerry Charles Ratana
Victim: Sahara Baker-Koro (2010), 5-years-old

Kerry Charles Ratana. Photo / APN

Matthew Ellery
Victim: Serenity Jay Scott-Dinnington, 6-months-old


Ngaire Tukiwaho
Victim: Tahi Elvis Edwards, 2-years-old

Ngaire Tukiwaho. Photo / APN

Mariam Filihia
Victim: Terepo "Popo" Taura-Griffiths, 1-years-old

Godmother on trial for baby's murder | Stuff

Kulukora Akau'ola
Victim: Baby Akau’ola, newborn baby

 Kulukora Akau'ola

Joel Loffley
Victim: James Lawrence, 2-years-old

JJ trial: Murder conviction would be 'greatest injustice' - lawyer - NZ  Herald

Trent Hapuku
Victim: Mikara Reti , 5-months-old

Mikara Reti's killer Trent Hapuku has parole declined | Stuff

Thomas Tamatea Ariki Nui McGregor
Victim: Hinekawa Topia, newborn baby

Dad who murdered newborn triplet jailed for life - NZ Herald

Edward Livingstone
Victims: Bradley and Ellen Livingstone , 9-years-old and 6-years-old

Red flags missed in Livingstone case | Otago Daily Times Online News

Myra Paea
Victim: Milton Manihera Waikaaho Raroa, 7-weeks-old

Young mother jailed for two years for shaking her baby to death | Stuff

Troy Solomon
Victim: Aaliyah Izabella Betty Solomon, 5-months-old

Troy Solomon trial: Father guilty of murdering baby | Stuff

Shane Christopher Neil, Donna Parangi and Lacey Te Whetu
Victim: Isaiah Neil, 8-months-old

From left, Shane Christopher Neil, Donna Parangi and Lacey Te Whetu.

Troy Taylor
Victim: Ihaka Stokes, 15-months-old

Killer of 15-month-old jailed for at least 17 years | RNZ News

Dane Blake
Victim: Leith Hutchison, 15-months-old

Coroner criticises OT after baby's shaking death | RNZ News

Donovan Michael Duff
Victim: Maija Puhi-Duff, 9-months-old

New court documents reveal why South Auckland prison inmate Donovan Duff  killed again - NZ Herald

Tewi Savage
Victim: Arnica Savage, 2-years-old

SunLive - Father accused of murdering two-year-old on trial - The Bay's  News First

Hayden Anthony Gray
Victim: Carter Hutton, 4-weeks-old

Hayden Anthony Gray escaped homicide charge in son's death by just ten  hours | Stuff

Aaron James Archer
Victim: Ariah Roberts, 2-years-old

Man who killed ex-girlfriend's toddler sentenced to seven years' prison |  RNZ News

William Martin Wakefield
Victim: Lincoln Wakefield, 5-months-old

Jury hears stepdad's confession to shaking baby, wanting to hurt him | Stuff

Jacey Ngahere
Victim: Maree Takuira-Mita Ngahere, 4-weeks-old

Kaitaia man jailed for four years six months for manslaughter of his  four-week-old daughter - NZ Herald

Aaron George Izzet
Victim: Naveah Ager, 2-years-old

Mad about birds on X: "Welcome to caring 'no uplift' NZ. I weep for our  children. The worst place in the OECD to be born as far as child abuse goes  Aaron

Phillip Welsh
Victim: Malcom Bell, 18-months-old

Phillip Welsh pleads guilty to manslaughter of baby Malcolm Bell - NZ Herald

David Grant Sinclair
Victim: CJ Bodhi Brian White-Sinclair 10-months-old


Michaela Barriball
Victim: Malachi Subecz, 5-years-old

Malachi Subecz murder: Judge implores people who work with children to  report suspected abuse - NZ Herald

Are you worried about the safety of a child?

If you have concerns about the immediate safety of a child, call 111.

Alternatively contact your local police station - click her for a list.

Or, contact Oranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children on 0508 326 459 for advice or click here to visit the agency's website for more information.


This list isn’t here to shock for the sake of it. It’s not about clickbait, and it’s not about pushing an agenda. It’s about telling the full truth. For too long, the public has been drip-fed only half the story when it comes to child homicides in New Zealand. The focus is put on the tragedy, the grieving, the aftermath, but very rarely is it placed squarely on who is doing the killing.

If we are serious as a country about protecting our children, then we cannot keep turning away from the uncomfortable facts. Māori tamariki are dying at the hands of their own at disproportionate rates. That truth might hurt to say out loud, but it hurts far more when it’s ignored. The silence has allowed this crisis to carry on, generation after generation, with no serious reckoning or accountability. And while the politicians make noise about “equity” and “wellbeing,” the statistics keep piling up in the morgues and courtrooms.

This is not just a social issue. It’s a moral failure. A cultural rot. A political embarrassment. The State has failed. Whānau have failed. Iwi have failed. And the media, in many cases, have chosen to look the other way when it gets too confronting.

We cannot fix what we refuse to face. We cannot heal without first naming the wound. This list is not complete, and probably never will be, because name suppression laws in New Zealand shield many of the worst offenders from public scrutiny. What is already in the open is damning enough.

So here it is. The faces of those responsible. Not hidden behind legal protections or blurred out with polite reporting. This is what the truth looks like. If that makes people uncomfortable, then maybe it’s time they sit with that discomfort, because our kids have paid the ultimate price for far too long.

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To my paid subscribers, I just want to say thank you. Your support means a lot, especially on pieces like this. Writing it was fucking hard. It was confronting in a way I didn’t expect. When I scrolled back through the list after finishing, all I could see were brown faces staring back at me…

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