Family calls for resignations after brother Rob Fitzpatrick’s cell death

In June last year, a Whangārei man struggling with his mental health was allegedly beaten to death by his cellmate at Mt Eden prison. Rob Fitzpatrick’s alleged murder is one of three involving double-bunking at the jail in just over 12 months. His family members believe their loss could have been avoidable, had it not been for missteps by multiple government agencies. Michael Morrah reports.

The family of a Whangārei man is calling for resignations at Corrections after their much-loved brother and son was allegedly beaten to death by his cellmate.

They believe a multitude of failures by government agencies, including poor information-sharing between health services and Corrections, preceded the death of Rob Fitzpatrick on June 27 last year.

Fitzpatrick, 46, who had mental health difficulties, was double-bunked with another man, who also had mental health problems.

Fitzpatrick’s alleged attacker, who’s now charged with murder, was in jail for allegedly attacking another man near a Māngere bus stop, which left the victim in a critical condition in hospital.

The victim’s brother, Ross Fitzpatrick, said he wants to know why staff at Mt Eden Corrections Facility (MECF) thought it was suitable to double-bunk his brother.

Rob Fitzpatrick, who had mental health difficulties, was killed on June 27 last year while at Auckland's Mt Eden Corrections Facility.

“You have to question the common sense of people who are in the offices at Mt Eden prison. We just want to know why those clowns ... signed off on this decision,” he told the Herald.

Corrections has a risk-assessment policy to determine who is suitable to be double-bunked, which includes considering a prisoner’s risk of violence towards others and their mental health status.

Ross Fitzpatrick wants answers over his brother Rob Fitzpatrick's death at Mt Eden Corrections Facility. Photo / Annaleise Shortland

Corrections has refused to say what the assessment for Fitzpatrick entailed or who signed off on the decision to put him in a shared cell.

Corrections custodial services commissioner Leigh Marsh said an investigation by the Corrections Inspectorate and coroner is underway.

“I want to assure Mr Fitzpatrick’s family that as soon as we can address their questions without compromising any active proceedings, we will offer them the opportunity to meet to talk through these in detail,” he told the Herald.

Marsh said the family “absolutely deserves answers” and he was committed to providing them when the time was right.

The family said the circumstances of Fitzpatrick’s death also raise questions about oversight by Corrections staff.

“He [Rob] was [allegedly] beaten to death, and we can’t understand how that can happen and how no one could get there before it was too late,” Ross Fitzpatrick said.

The Herald understands it was another inmate who raised the alarm with prison staff.

Fitzpatrick had been living with bipolar disorder.

He ended up in jail because he breached a non-contact order by texting a person he shouldn’t have, his family said.

The text message that landed him in Mt Eden prison, obtained by the Herald, said, “Hi [name redacted], coffee?”

It was signed off “Rob. F.” followed by an unintelligible follow-up text that said, “invisible throw”.

Fitzpatrick had been sending unwanted messages to the complainant for 10 years and had previously breached the conditions of his restraining order by continuing to message the complainant.

A series of violent deaths

Rob Fitzpatrick was killed, allegedly by another prisoner, while inside this facility. Photo / NZME

Fitzpatrick’s suspected murder is not an isolated case.

In just over 12 months, three prisoners placed in shared cells at MECF have died, allegedly at the hands of their cellmates.

In September 2024, father of five Andrew Chan Chui was found dead in the cell he was sharing with another inmate who was subsequently charged with his murder.

Then late last year, Johnathan Trubuhovich was found dead after allegedly being assaulted by his cellmate.

Ross Fitzpatrick questioned why prison manager Dion Paki still had a job given the series of deaths on his watch.

“The manager has presided over three suspected murders. Why is he still there? He shouldn’t have his job,” Ross told the Herald.

The Herald put the family’s criticism to Corrections and asked if Paki would respond. Corrections did not address this request in its response.

The Fitzpatrick family is also scathing of the way Corrections communicated with the family after the suspected murder.

Police broke the news to the family and while Paki spent time answering media queries, the Fitzpatricks say he didn’t call them to explain what had happened.

Two days after Fitzpatrick’s death, his family wrote to Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell complaining about what they considered a lack of communication.

It was after that letter the family received a call from Paki.

Fitzpatrick’s sister, Julia Fitzpatrick, said: “He offered his sympathy for my brother’s passing. That was his word. So, you can just imagine my state at that point saying my brother ‘passed’.”

Julia Fitzpatrick says Corrections didn't call the family immediately after her brother was killed while sharing a cell. Photo / Annaleise Shortland

She said Paki then asked her to come to the jail to collect her brother’s belongings and get the brochure about “the process” when there’s a death in custody.

The family said the interaction lacked empathy and they felt appalled by it.

Marsh apologised for the delay in contacting the family.

“We could have done more in trying to contact them sooner and we are extremely sorry for the distress this caused,” he said.

He said risk assessments for shared cells are being “urgently” reviewed and a number of immediate changes have already been introduced to improve safety.

“This includes introducing hourly checks for all high-security cells which are double-bunked across all prisons, including throughout the night,” he told the Herald.

All remand prisoners held at MECF are managed as high security, regardless of their background, because of the high number of inmates who come and go.

Statistics show MECF has the second-highest number of prisoners in the country after Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison.

The Corrections Inspectorate has previously raised concerns about pressures on staff at MECF, which “created conditions” and opportunities for violence between inmates.

Rob ‘never met threshold’ for mental health intervention

Rob Fitzpatrick's family say they tried to get help from mental health teams when they knew he was showing signs of becoming unwell. Photo / Supplied

For Fitzpatrick’s family, his death is not solely about seeking accountability and change from Corrections.

His family are demanding answers from health authorities and police too.

Fitzpatrick was diagnosed in his final year of high school with bipolar disorder – a mood disorder that can cause swings ranging from euphoric highs to depressive lows.

He’d navigated the illness with successes and setbacks for many years.

He graduated from the University of Waikato with a management degree but struggled to hold down fulltime work.

Rob Fitzpatrick and his mother Dorothy Fitzpatrick when he graduated from the University of Waikato in 2002. Photo / Supplied

Fitzpatrick visited various general practitioners over the years, but his family says he never had the same clinician overseeing his medication and wellbeing long term.

By 2024, he’d become increasingly argumentative and was embellishing his achievements in various online posts, his family said.

Julia said she and other family members tried to get crisis teams to intervene.

“He never met their threshold,” she told the Herald.

In New Zealand, intervention by mental health crisis teams requires a person to be in “extreme mental distress” and at serious risk of harming themselves or others.

Health New Zealand’s mental health and addiction national director Phil Grady offered his condolences to the family, and told the Herald a serious adverse event review is underway in relation to Fitzpatrick’s death.

“We are always looking to improve how we deliver the best possible patient-centred care and we will work quickly to implement any recommendations resulting from the review,” he said.

Keith and Dorothy Fitzpatrick want government departments to be held accountable for what happened to their son. Photo / Annaleise Shortland

Fitzpatrick’s mother, Dorothy Fitzpatrick, described getting engagement from crisis teams as an “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” scenario.

She recalled pleading for help but being told “the only way to get help is to call the police”.

In her desperation, she even considered lying to health authorities.

“He [Rob] hadn’t threatened us or hurt us or anything and I kept thinking maybe I should just tell them that he has, so they’d come, but I could never do that to my child,” she told the Herald.

Lack of space at mental health unit

Rob Fitzpatrick spent time at Whangārei Hospital's mental health unit, Tumanako.

Fitzpatrick had been sending unwanted online messages to a woman for many years and, in January 2024, his persistent correspondence came to a head when she sought a restraining order against him.

Despite this, Fitzpatrick continued to message the complainant.

“Rob could never understand [why he couldn’t contact the complainant]. He kept saying ‘but we’re friends on Facebook’. In his mind, that was real,” Dorothy said.

He was first arrested in May 2024 for breaching the restraining order and was held in Ngāwhā prison near Kaikohe as there were no beds available at Whangārei Hospital’s mental health unit, Tumanako.

When space freed up, Fitzpatrick spent several weeks on the ward receiving specialist care before being discharged.

He was arrested again in November 2024 for another breach and had his first experience at Mt Eden prison.

Released four months later, his siblings told the Herald they were shocked at how emaciated he’d become.

“I could feel his bones and he’s a big guy,” Julia said.

Fitzpatrick’s family set him up in an apartment in Whangārei, where he was on electronic bail.

By this stage, he was under the Mental Health Act and getting support from the hospital and social workers to manage his medication.

“He was starting to look well again and was looking after himself. You could have more of a conversation with him,” Julia said.

But just as there was a growing sense of optimism about Fitzpatrick’s road to recovery, he sent another text.

Rob’s birthday: ‘We couldn’t find him’

Rob Fitzpatrick (fourth left) with family in Whangārei.

He’d breached the restraining order again by contacting one of the complainant’s friends about coffee.

The message was enough for police to swoop. Fitzpatrick’s family said they were not informed of his arrest.

Dorothy said she arrived at his apartment in May last year with a cake to mark his birthday.

“We turned up and he just wasn’t there. Nobody knew where he was,” she said.

Julia contacted police, but it was only after she filled out an online “locate a person in prison form” that she learned the following morning that her brother was in custody at Ngāwhā prison – soon to be transferred to Mt Eden.

Fitzpatrick was required to have a basic phone so he could be contacted by bail support officers.

His father, Keith Fitzpatrick, said authorities should have considered alternative options, so he couldn’t send texts.

“We thought that the easiest way to stop that [him contacting the complainant] was just to take his phone off him,” Keith said.

Police cited privacy concerns when asked why Fitzpatrick’s parents and siblings weren’t informed of his arrest.

Ross said his brother was supposed to undergo a mental health assessment before his arrest but the critical wellbeing check had been delayed.

He believes the arrest wouldn’t have happened “if he had had the mental health assessment done prior. He would have been receiving the help he needed”.

On remand at Mt Eden prison, Fitzpatrick was also awaiting a mental health assessment ahead of another bail hearing before his death.

“He could have been home. It was that close,” Julia said.

Dorothy said it felt like Corrections had “disappeared” her son, and the only way she can cope with what’s happened is to pretend Rob is “away”.

She believes her son is dead because government departments such as Health New Zealand and Corrections “don’t talk to each other” and, as a result, mistakes were made.

Rob Fitzpatrick as a 16-month-old at home in Whangārei.

She said her son had a brilliant mind, a wry sense of humour and was a resilient and optimistic individual despite a number of setbacks and disappointments in his life.

Keith said his boy was a talented sportsman and an “authority on rugby”.

Rob Fitzpatrick pictured playing cricket in 1994 as a teenager while attending Whangārei Boys' High School. Photo / Supplied

“It’s just hard to take. When you wake up in the morning and you forget all about it and then you remember about it, it does not make for a happy life,” he said.

They pair want to see government departments held accountable, and changes implemented, fearing what they’ve endured with the loss of their son will happen again.

Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.