Articles by Kelly Makiha
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National
Tyre slashing spree: CCTV footage shows two girls, knife
Tuesday, 29 April 2025, 5:45pmCCTV footage shows two girls possibly involved in slashing tyres in central Rotorua. Police are working to identify the pair, with...
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National
Man charged with abducting 3-year-old from daycare
Thursday, 24 April 2025, 12:04pmWarning: This article contains distressing content. John Tekuru, 19, appeared in court today charged with abducting a 3-year-old...
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National
Sex crimes case: Appeal court declines man's bid to keep name secret
Thursday, 17 April 2025, 1:11pmThe leading entertainment figure found guilty of serious sexual assault charges will have his identity revealed next month,...
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National
Pattern of deception: Woman scams Facebook users
Sunday, 13 April 2025, 9:36amTania Joy Whiteman admitted scamming Facebook Marketplace users and selling stolen jewellery. Whiteman pleaded guilty to...
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National
Man’s drink-driving conviction overturned on appeal after lawyer, police errors
Saturday, 5 April 2025, 12:51pmA Whitianga man driving with more than twice the drink-driving limit in his father’s Jaguar has had his conviction quashed...
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National
‘I am a strong person but I am scared’: Food charity volunteer attacked
Wednesday, 26 March 2025, 7:19amGina Peiffer was allegedly attacked while setting up her free food service in Rotorua. Peiffer was allegedly kicked by a...
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National
Man charged with manslaughter, unlawful hunting after Kawerau man’s death
Tuesday, 25 March 2025, 12:40pmA man has been charged with manslaughter following the death of Kawerau man Stuart Stobie in an alleged hunting incident. A...
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National
Man died in armchair four days after crash injuries not detected
Friday, 21 March 2025, 6:15pmLance Hohaia Houpapa died from injuries not detected during treatment after a road crash in 2022. Coroner Mike Robb ruled...
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National
Mother jailed for live-streamed crash causing baby’s brain injury
Friday, 14 March 2025, 7:05amRawinia Whyman livestreamed her erratic driving after consuming alcohol, leading to a crash that gave her baby a severe brain...
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National
Kidnap, blackmail, assault: Mobster holds woman hostage in ‘harrowing’ ordeal
Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 9:22amJayden Kennedy has been jailed for five years and eight months for kidnapping and assault. Kennedy held a young woman for...
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National
Teen gang shooter avoids jail due to ‘worst’ childhood judge has seen
Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 11:51amHe pulled the trigger five times in a daylight gang shooting in Rotorua and was responsible for a string of car break-ins...
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Lower North Island
Teen needed facial reconstruction surgery after work accident on his birthday
Saturday, 22 February 2025, 1:41pmHarrison Gilbert was meant to finish work and enjoy a roast pork dinner with his family to celebrate his 17th birthday. Instead,...
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National
Fatal fight: Jury reaches verdict on logger who claimed self-defence
Thursday, 20 February 2025, 1:34pmA jury has found Nathan Moscrip not guilty of causing the death of his friend, Brodie Ruatara, following a fight over text...
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National
Second maths error in 2 weeks: 7 months' jail added for double fatal crash driver
Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 11:58amA drugged driver who crashed into an elderly Rotorua couple, killing them, has had seven months added to his prison sentence...
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National
Fatal fight between friends broke out over 'messages to girlfriend'
Monday, 17 February 2025, 1:37pmFisticuffs can end in death but it’s not always manslaughter, according to the lawyer of a man defending a charge he caused...
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National
Operation FPT goes ahead despite risk of fine
Friday, 14 February 2025, 3:00pmTwo hundred free meals have been given to Rotorua’s homeless and others at an event protesting the police’s Operation Trolley...
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National
‘Oh my God’: Cost of Kāinga Ora ‘container homes’ revealed
Friday, 14 February 2025, 7:10amTwelve one-bedroom Kāinga Ora apartments in Rotorua – originally described by some as being like “container homes” – cost...
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National
Judge’s maths blunder won’t change jail sentence for mobster
Friday, 7 February 2025, 1:16pmA Rotorua District Court judge got her maths wrong when sentencing a Mongrel Mob rapper who shot a man in the face in a road...
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Crime
Mongrel Mob rapper sentenced for road rage shooting
Wednesday, 5 February 2025, 9:57amA Mongrel Mob rapper who shot a man in the face in a road rage incident after picking up his children from a Rotorua primary...
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National
Revealed: Inside Rotorua's controversial Kāinga Ora 'container' homes
Thursday, 30 January 2025, 11:38amRotorua residents browsing controversial new Kāinga Ora apartments - originally described by some as being like “container...
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National
Operation Trolley: ‘Direct attack’ on homeless or making Rotorua’s CBD safe?
Wednesday, 29 January 2025, 12:26pmA political war of words has erupted over the police’s Operation Trolley targeting Rotorua’s homeless trolley-users, with...
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National
‘No chance of him surviving’: How a hot pool visit ended in death
Wednesday, 22 January 2025, 7:09amMatthew Tuimaualuga had been drinking and smoking cannabis with two others around a boiling thermal pool in Rotorua when...
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National
Nia Glassie's murderer: 'Still using drugs, still being violent'
Tuesday, 14 January 2025, 7:07amWarning: Distressing content. It’s been more than 17 years since Nia Glassie died a slow and painful death following torture...
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National
'Happy to be alive': Mum's 'tough year' after freak accident in restaurant
Sunday, 29 December 2024, 9:21amWhen Rotorua’s Sian Habgood has a rare opportunity to go out for a meal with her husband, she carefully picks where they...
