The details of the case, described by the judge as “unusual”, are outlined in a 51-paragraph judgment released late last month.
What was not in dispute was that Faalogo drove the victim to Auckland City Hospital and arrived at 1.26am on May 18, 2023.
She had suffered a broken eye socket, bruised and swollen eyes, a fractured rib, a long gash to her right hand, and a collapsed lung.
Police went to their Mt Eden apartment and discovered a chaotic scene, with blood smeared on the walls and furniture, as well as tufts of hair on the floor.
But the most damning piece of evidence retrieved by police was a video sent by Faalogo to the ex-boyfriend of his partner.
In the footage, sent at 12.16am, the victim is seen stumbling around with severely swollen eyes, cheeks and blood running down her face.
“This is a f***en message to you bro,” Faalogo said in the video. “Look at her brother, imagine what’s gonna happen to you…I know who you are.”
He then sent a flurry of expletive-laden and threatening text and voicemail messages, after which the ex-boyfriend called 111 and told police about the assault.
At about the same time, Faalogo called 111 asking for an ambulance. He claimed to be the victim’s brother and that she had been badly beaten up after getting into a fight with some other women after a drunken night out.
“She had a bad cut, maybe from a fall or something and her face was super, super swollen and she believed she had broken ribs,” Faalogo told the 111 operator.
“Let’s make it urgent, please. I can see how, you know, visibly she looks like she’s not going to make it.”
Faalogo ended up taking the victim to hospital himself and was arrested around 2am.
He pleaded not guilty to injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and the case went to court 12 months later.
At the trial, the victim refused to give evidence for the Crown and was instead a witness for the defence.
She told the judge that she was asleep on the couch in the lounge and was startled to find a group of men in her home.
The intruders were standing over her, with a knife, but she could not remember much else except waking up in the hospital bed. She could not remember speaking with the police but was adamant that Mormon Faalogo had not assaulted her.
It was similar to the evidence of Faalogo, who said he woke up to hear his girlfriend screaming and was met by three men in balaclavas.
Faalogo said he got into a fight with the men but was struck in the back of the head and complied with their demands for drugs and cash because they had a gun.
He then saw his girlfriend lying on the couch covered in blood and called 111.
Asked why he told the 111 call taker that he was the victim’s brother or the story about the drunken fight between girls, Faalogo admitted to lying because “narking” has serious consequences for gang members.
“The world I come from, if I was to go on to say it was a home invasion, it would have led to an arrest, that would make me a nark,” Faalogo said.
“There are repercussions for that, there’s dangers for that too, you know.”
Faalogo was adamant that he didn’t beat up his partner, although he admitted he was upset by the text messages that suggested she was cheating on him.
The ex-boyfriend who received the threatening messages, and the video of the injured victim, also refused to give evidence at the trial.
Instead, he gave a new affidavit to Faalogo’s defence lawyers which recanted his original statement by claiming he was drunk when he spoke to the police.
In listening to all of the evidence, Judge Mathers said the home invasion never happened.
“I have reached the view that Mr Faalogo has concocted the story of the home invasion and the various denials in an attempt to provide a defence to the serious charge that he faces,” Judge Mathers said.
“[The victim] has supported his version of events. It is understandable in the overall circumstances as to why…she has played her part to save her former partner.
“For whatever reason, whether [the ex-boyfriend] is now frightened, although he claims not to be, he has chosen to change his mind and has gone out of his way to make a statement to the contrary and disappear.”
Faalogo was found guilty of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and will be sentenced in September.
The Comancheros are an outlaw motorcycle gang from Australia that has radically changed the gang landscape since establishing a chapter in New Zealand in 2018, with senior members convicted of violence, murder, drug dealing and money laundering offences since then.
Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and is the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.
