The faces behind the horror
A list of those who killed our tamariki
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
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.
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
Michael Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Wiremu Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Lisa Kuka
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Michael Curtis
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Orini Kemp
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Michael Pearson
Victim: Nia Glassie, 3-years-old
Tiana Mary-Anne Odesa Kapea
Victim: Jyniah Te Awa, 10-months-old
Gustav Otto Sanft
Victim: Amokura Daniels-Sanft, 2-years-old
Azees Mahomed
Victim: Tahani Mahomed, 11-weeks-old
Patricia Pickering
Victim: Dylan Rimoni, 3-years-old
Johnny Joachim
Victim: Duwayne Pajlegutu, 7-years-old
Kyle Skerten
Victim: Riley Osborne, 16-months-old
Joanne Jasmine Tahuri
Victim: Cherishsiliala Tahuri-Wright, 3-years-old
Adam Christopher Lock
Victim: Jayrhis Lock-Tata, 5-weeks-old
Norefjell Davis
Victim: Jacqui Petersen Davis, 2-years-old
Kelly Percy
Victim: Hail-Sage McClutchie, 22-months-old
Rikki Ngatai-Check
Victim: Karl Perigo-Check, 2-years-old
Deepak Nagpai
Victim: Anna Sangha, 2-years-old
Kefu Ikamanu
Victim: Ikamanu , 2-years-old
James Allan Hemana
Victim: Cezar Taylor, 6-months-old
Kerry Charles Ratana
Victim: Sahara Baker-Koro (2010), 5-years-old
Matthew Ellery
Victim: Serenity Jay Scott-Dinnington, 6-months-old
Ngaire Tukiwaho
Victim: Tahi Elvis Edwards, 2-years-old
Mariam Filihia
Victim: Terepo "Popo" Taura-Griffiths, 1-years-old
Kulukora Akau'ola
Victim: Baby Akau’ola, newborn baby
Joel Loffley
Victim: James Lawrence, 2-years-old
Trent Hapuku
Victim: Mikara Reti , 5-months-old
Thomas Tamatea Ariki Nui McGregor
Victim: Hinekawa Topia, newborn baby
Edward Livingstone
Victims: Bradley and Ellen Livingstone , 9-years-old and 6-years-old
Myra Paea
Victim: Milton Manihera Waikaaho Raroa, 7-weeks-old
Troy Solomon
Victim: Aaliyah Izabella Betty Solomon, 5-months-old
Shane Christopher Neil, Donna Parangi and Lacey Te Whetu
Victim: Isaiah Neil, 8-months-old
Troy Taylor
Victim: Ihaka Stokes, 15-months-old
Dane Blake
Victim: Leith Hutchison, 15-months-old
Donovan Michael Duff
Victim: Maija Puhi-Duff, 9-months-old
Tewi Savage
Victim: Arnica Savage, 2-years-old
Hayden Anthony Gray
Victim: Carter Hutton, 4-weeks-old
Aaron James Archer
Victim: Ariah Roberts, 2-years-old
William Martin Wakefield
Victim: Lincoln Wakefield, 5-months-old
Jacey Ngahere
Victim: Maree Takuira-Mita Ngahere, 4-weeks-old
Aaron George Izzet
Victim: Naveah Ager, 2-years-old
Phillip Welsh
Victim: Malcom Bell, 18-months-old
David Grant Sinclair
Victim: CJ Bodhi Brian White-Sinclair 10-months-old
Michaela Barriball
Victim: Malachi Subecz, 5-years-old
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…