Mother to be cremated with son who killed her

Keith Bremner, who is still in a serious condition in hospital, is pictured with daughter Loren and wife Clare, who was killed in the Otorohanga attack.

A mother who died at the hands of her son will be cremated alongside him and their ashes interred together.

Their family, and that of the two strangers he is also believed to have killed, are preparing to take legal action against health authorities.

They say the Waikato District Health Board and Ministry of Health did not respond to cries for help for the mentally ill man in the days before his rampage.

It's now been 11 days since 42-year-old Otorohanga man Ross Bremner stabbed his mother Claire, 60, to death and critically injured his father, Keith, 64.

The man's own body was found four days later beside those of Te Kuiti couple Mona Tuwhangai and Maurice O'Donnell at their remote Kawhia beach house.

It is believed Bremner, who had a long history of mental illness, killed them as well as himself.

A private funeral for the Bremners will be held on Tuesday - a fortnight after the tragic series of events started - for family and close friends only.

The pair will be cremated and interred together following the service.

Tuwhangai and O'Donnell were commemorated at a Tangi at the Hia Kaitupeka Marae this week, and it is understood their daughter, Jo Kukutai, will attend the Bremners' funeral.

Bremner family neighbour and long time friend, Dennis Kaumoana, said that both families had made it clear they did not want any negativity towards Ross.

"What we have got to do is be supporting the living. If you have got negativity about Ross, lose it.

"We need to be looking at the government, they were our downfall and we need to be looking at that."

Lawyers had already been contacted, and family, friends and communities for both families wanted to take action soon.

He said the Bremner family, including Clare and Keith's other children, daughters Loren and Kylie, wanted a very private funeral.

The girls returned to the family home, where the attacks took place, for the first time last night.

Kaumoana said it was an emotional experience and the women had repeatedly requested privacy from the media as they came to terms with the tragic events.

Keith Bremner was still in a serious condition at Waikato Hospital, but making improvements each day, said Kaumoana.

The shocking events reignited claims for a national inquiry into the country's mental health sector, but the Government have repeatedly stated it will not be taking such action.

However, Waikato DHB has confirmed it will be undertaking an independent review of its services, where Ross Bremner was an inpatient in 2013 and had since been receiving treatment as an outpatient.