Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • 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

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

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

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

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 / Hawkes Bay Today

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

Jack Riddell
Jack Riddell
Multimedia journalist·Hawkes Bay Today·
18 Feb, 2025 11:50 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
Economists confident in 50-point OCR cut, 10-step energy plan proposal, and possible cuts to university funding.

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“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.
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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Residents of beloved campground given 24 hours to leave due to landslide risk

12 Feb 07:31 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

20hrs of rain: North Island braces for thundery downpours as tropical low moves in

12 Feb 06:59 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Significant and lasting harm': Nang sanctions are tough for a reason, Health Minister says

12 Feb 05:24 PM

Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Residents of beloved campground given 24 hours to leave due to landslide risk
Hawkes Bay Today

Residents of beloved campground given 24 hours to leave due to landslide risk

Evacuation needed because of "seriousness and immediacy of the risk", council letter says.

12 Feb 07:31 PM
20hrs of rain: North Island braces for thundery downpours as tropical low moves in
Hawkes Bay Today

20hrs of rain: North Island braces for thundery downpours as tropical low moves in

12 Feb 06:59 PM
'Significant and lasting harm': Nang sanctions are tough for a reason, Health Minister says
Hawkes Bay Today

'Significant and lasting harm': Nang sanctions are tough for a reason, Health Minister says

12 Feb 05:24 PM


Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk
Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 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
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP