An Auckland funeral director accused of misconduct with human remains is allowed to keep her name secret after her first court appearance.
The woman has also been accused of taking $15,002 by deception, court documents show.
Judge Stephen Bonnar granted interim name suppression for a week to allow for an appeal when she appeared in the Auckland District Court this morning.
She was remanded on bail without plea and will reappear in court on November 15.
The woman’s lawyer, Panama Le’au’anae, applied for name suppression. The Herald and Stuff opposed name suppression, and Judge Bonnar declined Le’au’anae’s application.
However, Judge Bonnar ordered suppression until 5pm next Wednesday to allow the woman to consult with her lawyer about possibly appealing the court’s decision.
The 48-year-old was arrested on Tuesday.
It follows an exclusive Herald investigation into claims an employee of Tipene Funerals deceived her grieving clients by putting their dead relatives in black plastic rubbish bags instead of the coffins they had paid for.
Tipene Funerals has its own reality television show, The Casketeers, in which the former employee featured.
Affected families found out when Cyclone Gabrielle forced the bodies to be disinterred from the public mausoleum at Waikumete Cemetery in West Auckland for repairs.
“When the families opened up the caskets, it was just a whole other level of grief. There was just wailing and screaming,” one affected relative told the Herald.
Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said: “The woman was arrested in Favona and has since been charged with misconduct in respect of human remains and nine counts of obtaining by deception.”
Baldwin said the arrest was a “significant development” in the investigation.
“[We] hope this arrest brings some reassurance to those affected by this woman’s offending.”
Baldwin said the police investigation would continue, and he could not rule out further charges.
Police have been investigating concerns about burials at Waikumete Cemetery since August.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton, of the police’s Auckland City Financial Crime Unit, confirmed at the time that they had received two reports of fraud. However, Bolton said there was “insufficient evidence” to proceed with the complaints.
The case was then reopened and picked up by the Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch.
Tipene Funerals director Francis Tipene has encouraged anyone with concerns about their former employee to report it to police.
He said his “former employee” worked for Tipene Funerals as a funeral director for seven years.
“And in doing so, a huge amount of trust was placed in her, both by Tipene Funerals, myself as director and the families she was taking care of,” Tipene said.
Baldwin has asked anyone with concerns about inappropriate or dishonest behaviour in relation to this case to call police on 105 and quote file number 240808/8008.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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