Slain Hastings man Tulasunu’i Keith Alapati was ‘humble, loving guy’ trying to stop a public fight, family say

The grieving family of a slain Hastings father says he “sacrificed his life” trying to stop a public fight.

Tulasunu’i Keith Alapati, 33, died at Hawke’s Bay Hospital on Sunday evening after what police say was a violent assault near Kirkpatrick Park, Camberley.

A 28-year-old Hastings man was arrested and charged with murder and appeared in Hastings District Court on Tuesday. He will appear in the High Court at Napier on March 7.

A family spokeswoman for Alapati, said he arrived in New Zealand in 2024 to “find a future for his family”. He and his family had only moved to Camberley in the past two weeks.

His family would forever remember him as a “humble, loving guy”, she said.

“He was a great father, friend, brother, and cousin.

“He loved his children more than anything, loved going fishing, and loved putting his family first.”

Tulasunu’i Keith Alapati, 33, died in Hawke’s Bay Hospital on Sunday evening.

She claimed Alapati “sacrificed his own life for another” on Sunday night.

Detective Inspector Martin James had earlier said police were called to a “group of people fighting” on Kiwi Lane about 10.30pm.

Police were advised a man had been dropped off at the Hawke’s Bay Hospital emergency department and was in a critical condition.

“He was there to stop it,” the family spokeswoman said of the fight.

“But instead he got hurt and was killed.

“It hadn’t been two weeks since they moved into Camberley and this tragic incident happened.

“It’s been a shock to us to receive news that something happened like this on the very street we lived in, and it was our brother who lost his life.”

She said she and the rest of the family were “at peace” thanks to quick police work in charging a man with murder.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.