Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Kelston double death: Six children left without a mother, family reeling

Anna Leask
Anna Leask
Senior Journalist - Crime and Justice·NZ Herald·
17 Mar, 2020 06:07 PM2 mins to read
‌

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Focus: Two people dead in Kelston. Neighbours heard yelling, screaming before police arrived at house. Video / Supplied

The family of a woman who died with her newborn son at their West Auckland home are rallying to support her surviving six children.

Emerald Waiari Tai, 27, and her 3-day-old son Tanatui Samuels were found dead at the Kelston home where they lived on Monday.

Emergency services target="_blank">converged on the home at 9.30am but the pair had already passed away.

There are no suspicious circumstances and the deaths have been referred to the Coroner.

The Herald understands Tai may have suffered a medical event while close to her baby.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There is no suggestion that violence was involved in any way.

READ MORE:
• Kelston double death: Police rule out foul play in death of mum, newborn
• Two people dead in Kelston: Neighbours heard yelling, screaming before police arrived at house
• Tofi's last goodbye: Kelston student insisted on going to school he loved
• Boy, 15, dies after school rugby attack

Her mother Susan Faamoe last night revealed little Tanatui was Tai's seventh child.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Emerald Tai died on Monday along with her newborn son Tanatui Samuels. Photo / Facebook
Emerald Tai died on Monday along with her newborn son Tanatui Samuels. Photo / Facebook

She is now trying to raise funds to help the six surviving children.

The Herald has reached out to Tai's partner - also named Tanatui Samuels - but he has yet to respond.

"I am setting up this page to raise funds for her remaining six children who now have no mother," Faamoe wrote on the Givealittle page.

"This money will ensure they have enough to start again for their future."

According to her Facebook page Tai was from Opotiki and went to school in Tauranga.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She listed "full time mummy" as her current job but stated she had studied in the travel and tourism sector.

To donate to the Givealittle page - click here.

Friends and family were reeling from Tai's death and were posting tributes on social media.

"Fly high Emz n pepe u will always be remembered, was a pleasure spending a lil time with ur babies," one friend wrote.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
OpinionMark Lister

Mark Lister: How an early OCR hike could hit markets, mortgages and confidence

17 May 04:00 PM
Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

‘I’ll just help myself’: Mum builds booming business weeks after giving birth

16 May 09:01 PM
Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

The $3m 'money mule' allegedly kidnapped in kiwifruit tax scam set to be deported

16 May 05:00 PM

Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Premium
Mark Lister: How an early OCR hike could hit markets, mortgages and confidence
Mark Lister
OpinionMark Lister

Mark Lister: How an early OCR hike could hit markets, mortgages and confidence

Markets see a 0.25% OCR hike in July as almost certain.

17 May 04:00 PM
Premium
Premium
‘I’ll just help myself’: Mum builds booming business weeks after giving birth
Bay of Plenty Times

‘I’ll just help myself’: Mum builds booming business weeks after giving birth

16 May 09:01 PM
Premium
Premium
The $3m 'money mule' allegedly kidnapped in kiwifruit tax scam set to be deported
Bay of Plenty Times

The $3m 'money mule' allegedly kidnapped in kiwifruit tax scam set to be deported

16 May 05:00 PM


From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music
Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP