\nPhoto \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
The Herald can now reveal that on July 31, Pongia, then 19, and others stormed onto a property where a man was spending the evening with his wife, daughter and baby granddaughter. <\/p>\n
Tailasa Pongia appeared at Auckland High Court before The Hon Justice Downs.
\nPhoto \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Pongia was arrested and released on bail early on August 1. <\/p>\n
He travelled back to Auckland and shortly before midnight on the same day, murdered 19-year-old Greig Kelvin Temarama-Abela.<\/p>\n
Police are satisfied they handled Pongia\u2019s earlier arrest properly. <\/p>\n
The victim of the home invasion disagrees. <\/p>\n
He cannot understand why Pongia was released so quickly and believes the fatal offending that followed could have been prevented.<\/p>\n
He spoke to the Herald about his ordeal, and shared the footage of the offenders converging on his family home, captured on security cameras.<\/p>\n
The victim’s security cameras captured the men – whom he did not know – leaping over his fence and storming towards his house.
One man can clearly be seen passing a bat to another as they prepare to invade the family home. <\/p>\n
The footage clearly shows the offenders passing a weapon to each other – which looks to be a bat. <\/p>\n
However police confirmed Pongia was charged with wielding a knife. <\/p>\n
Otara: The murder of Greig Temarama-Abela<\/p>\n
In August Pongia, now 20, pleaded guilty to murdering Temarama-Abela. <\/p>\n
He also admitted a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to another man he stabbed during the same fight. <\/p>\n
Court documents released to the Herald this year outline how Pongia had been drinking with four friends at a Bairds Rd home in \u014ctara just before midnight on August 1 last year when three young men – including Temarama-Abela and the other victim – showed up on foot at the front fence.<\/p>\n
The visitors, who had also been drinking in a home about a kilometre away, had an \u201cunresolved dispute\u201d with one of Pongia\u2019s friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cA verbal exchange ensued, which escalated into shouting profanities and physical challenges,\u201d the police summary of facts said. <\/p>\n
Greig Kelvin Temarama-Abela died after he was stabbed by Tailasa Pongia in a South Auckland street fight. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe confrontation spilled outwards onto Bairds Road, where more members of the defendant\u2019s group joined in. A widespread physical altercation broke out, with members of both groups throwing punches and fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt an unknown point, Mr Pongia armed himself with a knife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Temarama-Abela turned away from Pongia, who stabbed him in the upper back.<\/p>\n
The 8.5cm deep wound entered through Temarama-Abela\u2019s ribs and cut a small internal artery, resulting in a fatal haemorrhage, a pathologist would later determine. <\/p>\n
A half-centimetre incision was also found on his upper arm.<\/p>\n
The other victim witnessed the stabbing and punched Pongia, causing him to drop to his knees.<\/p>\n
He managed to stand up and adopted a boxing stance, then lunged forwards and stabbed the man in the abdomen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fighting continued intermittently, and both groups moved towards the intersection of Bairds Road and Wymondley Road,\u201d court documents state.<\/p>\n
The scene of the murder. Photo \/ Hayden Woodward<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the fighting eventually petered off, and the groups began to disperse.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy this point, Mr Temarama-Abela sat down at the intersection of Wymondley Road and Laxon Avenue. He quickly lost consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was pronounced dead a short time later at Middlemore Hospital.<\/p>\n
Pongia initially told police he had been asleep and knew nothing of the confrontation. <\/p>\n
Palmerston North: The home invasion <\/p>\n
Soon after Pongia was arrested for murder, the victim in Palmerston North contacted the Herald to share his story. <\/p>\n
The victim, who did not want his name published to protect his family, was at home with his wife, daughter and 7-month-old granddaughter when the terrifying ordeal happened. <\/p>\n
The men converged on the victim’s house, where his 7-month-old granddaughter was sleeping.<\/p>\n
The man has a criminal history but has not had any convictions since 2013. <\/p>\n
He said all hell broke loose just after an old friend came to visit. <\/p>\n
The victim suspects that friend may have some kind of connection to Pongia and or his co-offenders. <\/p>\n
However the victim said he did not know, or have any connection to any of the men who converged on his family home that night. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey came straight in, they tried to get through my gate and I closed it thinking \u2018what the f***\u2019s going on here?\u2019 One of them had a weapon in his hand, like a baseball bat and he jumped straight over the fence and I gapped it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made it inside and my wife was standing there holding the baby \u2026 I grabbed the door handle, and they were trying to rip the door handle open. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt all happened so fast \u2026 They ran off because my dog started barking – one of them started shouting \u2018pitbull, pitbull\u2019 and they took off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim said the men also attacked his mate on the street. <\/p>\n
The offenders chased the victim’s mate down the street and assaulted him.<\/p>\n
The assault was also caught on camera but no one was charged with anything related to the assault. <\/p>\n
The victim\u2019s wife called 111 and set off the panic alarm in the house. <\/p>\n
He said while she was on the phone several of the group came back \u201cfor a second run\u201d at his home.<\/p>\n
They managed to get the gate open \u2026 they came to the house and started smashing windows.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim gave a full statement to police and sent CCTV footage to assist the investigation. <\/p>\n
He later found out that just two of the group were arrested. <\/p>\n
Soon after, they were released and \u201ctold to go back to Auckland\u201d. <\/p>\n
Tailasa Pongia was charged with murder. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n
\u201cThey f***ing jumped my fence, and they tried to kick their way in my house and threaten not only me but my partner and my daughter and my granddaughter\u2026 and they got bailed?\u201d the victim said, shocked. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe police f***ing let them go and he committed a more serious crime hours later. Can you just imagine the family of that young man who was stabbed? They\u2019ve lost their son, they\u2019re going to read this and they\u2019re gonna go \u2019what the f**k?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir boy could be with them today \u2026 the only reason why I\u2019m pushing this story is because I feel for that family \u2026 it\u2019s f***ed up, it\u2019s not good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police: Why Pongia was released<\/p>\n
Police stood by their decision to release Pongia on bail. <\/p>\n
Central District crime manager Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan confirmed Pongia was later convicted of \u201cburglary and unlawful possession of a knife and sentenced\u201d.<\/p>\n
The other offender admitted charges of \u201cunlawfully entering an enclosed yard\u201d and was discharged without conviction.<\/p>\n
Sheridan said at the time of the arrest, the offenders \u201cdid not meet the threshold to be remanded in custody\u201d and were released.<\/p>\n
Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had appropriate and enforceable bail conditions, which included being forbidden from entering Palmerston North, and to reside at an Auckland address.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice conduct rigorous risk assessments at the time of any arrest, and this individual\u2019s initial offence did not meet the strict legal threshold under the Bail Act 2000 to hold him in custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice understand that the outcome of the Palmerston North investigation was not what the victim of that incident and their family were hoping for; however, the file was reviewed at the time, and I am satisfied that police exhausted all possible lines of inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim is considering a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the slackness \u2026 it\u2019s f***ed up, it\u2019s not good,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, if I jump a fence and I go into a property and I start lurking around with a bat and a black hood on \u2026 smashing windows, I\u2019m going to jail \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Herald can now reveal that on July 31, Pongia, then 19, and others stormed onto a property…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[74,51,232461,9218,634,2837,11784,15124,42,1345,11551,17702,2205,5511,14235,43,529,316113,6292,275146,1240,72230,15163,5424,275145,4054,17435,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-645155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-after","tag-auckland","tag-bailed","tag-before","tag-death","tag-during","tag-fatal","tag-fight","tag-headlines","tag-home","tag-hours","tag-invasion","tag-involved","tag-just","tag-killer","tag-news","tag-north","tag-otara","tag-palmerston","tag-pongia","tag-south","tag-stabbed","tag-stabbing","tag-street","tag-tailasa","tag-teenager","tag-terrifying","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}