Grieving whanau set minds on tangi

A couple shot at their Fairburn home are lying together in death, as they did in life, at Te Paatu Marae south of Kaitaia.

As of edition time yesterday the place and time for the funeral of Ivan and Carmen Maheno had yet to be set, a marae spokesman saying more whanau meetings were needed before the tangi details could be finalised. The family's intention is also to bury the couple together.

Police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said the deceased were returned to their families, who had accompanied them back to Kaitaia, after post mortems were completed in Auckland late on Tuesday. The findings would not be released because the matter was before the courts.

The couple have been lying at Pamapuria's Te Paatu Marae since early yesterday.

The scene examination at the Fairburn Rd address was completed yesterday and family members allowed to return for the blessing.

"The Pamapuria community has been very cooperative. Everyone in the community has expressed their shock and sorrow at this tragedy," Ms Kennett said. Twenty-two police from across Northland have been working on the case.

Carmen Maheno, 38, died about 10.30pm in Whangarei Hospital on Sunday after being shot at her home earlier the same day.

Her 44-year-old husband, Ivan, was also fatally shot in the same incident. His body was removed from the house about 2pm on Monday. Family gathered at the house when his body was removed.

The couple married two years ago and had two children, aged 8 and 17, neither of whom was home at the time.

A family member said whanau were coming from around New Zealand and Australia to mourn the couple's tragic deaths. "One thing we have agreed on is that they will be buried together, but we have to talk about where that will be.".

Ivan's brother, Gordon Maheno, said the deaths had been a "nightmare" for the family.

The shootings are another blow for the close-knit community south of Kaitaia, still reeling after the arrest last year of Pamapuria School deputy principal James Parker on sex abuse charges.

Te Runanga o Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi called for greater support for the Pamapuria community, which was in shock and under severe pressure after the run of tragic events.

"We are in a community, I think, that is in great need of support and not just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff stuff. More proactive interventions are required at a socioeconomic and a cultural level," he said.

Edwin Harvey Maheno, 38, a nephew of the slain couple, appeared in the Kaitaia District Court on Monday charged with two counts of murder. He was remanded in custody until May 30. No bail or suppression was sought. His lawyer, Ken Bailey, has asked that his sanity and fitness to plead be assessed.