Ngatikaura Ngati
2002 - January 31, 2006

The first picture to come up was of Ngatikaura laying on his stomach,
naked and deceased. His beaten, battered and bruised body in that
picture is one that will, I have NO doubt, haunt me for the rest of my life. He truly did have bruises from head to toe. It was obvious that
this sweet little boy had suffered terribly at the hands of two monsters pretending to be parents. It was also obvious that NEITHER of them
deserved to be called mom or dad.

When he was only one month old, Ngatikaura's mother decided she didn't want him and gave custody of him to her cousin, Kura Kaufausi and her husband Finau. Unable to have children of their own, the couple was happy to have him. Ngatikaura thrived in his home with his adopted mother and father. He was a happy boy who climbed into bed every night and tell his parents that he loved them before he would say his prayers. His bedroom was full of toys, family pictures, Winnie The Pooh and Piglet.

Ngatikaura's days were filled with playing his Ukulele, singing on his
Karaoke machine and taking trips with his parents to the zoo or to the
beach. His happiness was obvious to those who met him, he was very much loved.

No one could have predicted that three years later, his mother would
come to take him back, away from the only life he had ever known.
Away from the parents who loved him so much and who he loved.
Three weeks after his third birthday, his birth mother, Maine Ngati,
decided that she wanted him back, so she went after him. Kura would
fight for custody in November of 2005, she and her husband would 
lose that fight.

Taken from his home, he then went to live in Otara with four other
children in an environment that was totally foreign to him. His bed
would be a mattress on the floor and nothing familiar on the walls to
comfort him. Ngatikaura's language up to that point had been Tongan and this family spoke only English. He had trouble communicating
with the new people in his life.

The confusion caused Ngatikaura to start wetting his pants when he
HAD previously been potty trained. On his bottom, he developed an
ulcer the size of a mans hand. Maine didn't take him to the doctor to
have it treated, she simply placed a sanitary pad on it. Soon, the once
happy child would make a complete turn around into a child who was
terrified he would be beaten at any moment. At times he would have
accidents in his pants and would throw them out the window so that
it would not be discovered and he could avoid being beaten.

On January 30, 2006. Ngatikaura receive several beatings which it is
believed started about 10am after he had an accident in his pants.
Maine would stated that she was very angry and picked up a stick and
beat him with it all over his body, except for his head, which she says
she use her hand on. She then put Ngatikaura into the bath tub.

Later that same day, Ngatikaura woke up and needed to use the bath-
room. He was unable to get up because of the pain he was in. Not
being able to hold it, he soiled himself which brought on another
beating. That night, his stepfather showered him and though police
say that the bruises, swelling and damage to his little body would
have been plainly obvious especially since his left arm was swollen to
twice the size it should have been, he didn't seek help for his stepson:

Ngatikaura's heart was only able to withstand so much and he was
beaten again, the next morning. Having another accident in  his pants
brought about beatings from his mother and his stepfather, Fa'asisila.
Fa'asisila told police that when Ngatikaura had another accident he
disciplined him by making him stand with his hands on the wall and
lifting his feet and the man beat the bottoms of his feat with a stick.
Police didn't believe a word of it since the bottoms of his feet were the only place where there were no bruises.

Physical evidence and statements made by the other children would
show that Ngatikaura had been beaten with a baseball bat over his
entire body, except for his head. A search of their home showed that
a bat had been hidden and it was covered in Ngatikaura's blood. Also,
in other rooms throughout the house, more blood was found. In the
living room and in Ngatikaura's bedroom, his blood was fond as high
as on the ceiling. Police say that this would happen when someone 
was hit while they were already bleeding. Some of the blood on the
walls and floor showed obvious signs of someone having tried to
wash it off.

Maine had gone on a job interview in the morning, which is when the
beating with bat had taken place. After she returned home, she would notice that Ngatikaura's condition was getting worse and at times
during the afternoon, he had even stopped breathing. Maine was 
attempting CPR on Ngatikaura when Fa'asisila said they should call for an ambulance. Maine said not, saying"

Fa'asisila eventually went to get his Uncle who lived close by. The
Uncle said that they should call an ambulance right away. Maine told
the operator that she had beaten Ngatikaura with a stick. She seemed
to be more concerned about herself though:

Ngatikaura was taken to Middlemore Hospital and later transferred to
Starship. His adoptive mother, Kura, stayed with him right up to the
moment he died. She leaned over and whispered in his ear:

And then Ngatikaura's swollen, beaten, bruised and batter body, gave
out and he died.

Pathologists would argue in court over what was the exact cause of
his death, none would argue that his body was covered in injuries.
Pictures taken during post-mortem showed exactly how much abuse
he had suffered while he was alive. The investigating officer stopped
counting the bruises when he hit 50.

The jury in the High Court would hear how Maine, who was 32, had
punched Ngatikaura in his face, hit him with sticks and smack him on
his head when she thought he was being naughty. Fa'asisila, who was 27, would beat him with whatever he could find. In their eyes, being
naughty meant he had not moved fast enough for them, he wasn't
playing a game correctly and once it meant he had not said "yes mum". Ngatikaura was even beaten once for not hopping like a frog.

Finau and Kura were having a very hard time with his death:

Finau spends time at the grave of Ngatikaura, making sure it stays
clean. The couple often watch videos of the firsts in his life, his first
steps, birthdays and other important milestones.

Finau spends a lot of time at Ngati's tiny grave, keeping it clean and tidy; Kura often watches videos the couple took of his first steps, his birthdays, all his important milestones.

Police learned that Maine was claming benefits for more children than
she had living with her and that this was the reason she had wanted
Ngatikaura to come back and live with her. She was afraid of being
caught:

Kura said that she now regrets trying to legally get custody and wishes that instead she had taken him away to a place where they would not have been found. She says if she had, Ngatikaura would be alive:

Kura had tried to visit Ngatikaura at his new home and found that 
no one would ever answer the door. She feels guilty that he never 
understood why he had to change houses and that they had not been
to see him:

Police didn't know how often Ngatikaura had been beaten, though it
would have been worse during the last two days of his life. It is 
believed that the problem with having accidents was due to the state
of mind at all that was happening to him:

When Ngatikaura's arm was cut open by the Pathologist, they were 
able to see that the tissue had died from the beatings he had been
taking. Also present was a subdural homeroom which was estimated
to have been five to ten days old as well as fresh trauma to his head
from the most recent beatings. Also present was an unusual pattern
with bits of skin that were missing from his arm, wrist and his inside thigh. The weapon that made those marks has yet to be found.

It is not clear if anyone, including relatives, knew about the beatings
that Ngatikaura suffered, people denied knowing. Other than his
siblings who testified to what they saw, Ngatikaura's abuse was not
witnessed by anyone. Mr. Middleton found it hard to believe that even though the beatings never occurred in front of other adults, no one ever noticed that there was anything wrong.

A relative of Maine said that on the morning of his death she had
been there during breakfast and she gave him a high fight, things
seemed to be fine at that point. The high five took place after he had
been beaten, seriously, two times the day before and he was unable
to use his arm:

Richard says it is probably a case of relatives ignoring what was going on or the family members didn't want to know about it:

Maine and Fa'asisila were both charged with murder, though they 
were found guilty of manslaughter instead. They were also found
guilty of a another charge of manslaughter for not seeking medical
care for Ngatikaura that might have saved his life. They were also
found guilty of ill-treament of a child.

Kura says it makes her sick to know what happened to Ngatikaura. In
her eyes, Maine is no longer her relative and says that the only way
that is life was blessed, was the day he died and got away from the 
people she says are devils:

Justice Graham Lang said that he understood that Maine might have
been under stress and suffering from post natal depression when she
took Ngatikaura back into her home. He said that the couple had
seriously abused their position when the beat him and that using
weapons only made it more serious. He said that their idea of what
punishment was, was not proper and completely unjustified:

The Judge said that his sentence was based on principles from a
previous Court Of Appeal judgment stating that the manslaughter of
a defenseless child was worse than that of an adult. 

It came as a complete shock to me when I read that the people who
were responsible for the death of this little Angel, Maine and Fa'asisila, received sentences of ONLY eight and a half years with parole being
available to them after four years and eight months.

Kura Kaufusi Ngatikaura yelled at them after they were sentenced:

Below is Ngatikaura's grave site at Manukau Memorial Gardens.
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