More than a year after a convicted child sex offender was found dead in his double-bunked prison cell, police still can’t say how he died and are preparing to transfer the case to the Coroner.
Kingi Hemi’s grieving family have now been waiting nearly 400 days for answers about how the 40-year-old lost his life in Northland’s Ngawha Prison.
They have earlier alleged a “cover-up” and criticised the lack of information from police and Corrections.
Hemi’s body was discovered in his cell on November 20, 2024.
Police investigators have treated the death as unexplained while they probed the circumstances. The Herald earlier reported police were awaiting a pathologist’s report to establish how Hemi died.
However, in a statement last week, a police spokesman said: “Police are in the process of referring Mr Hemi’s death to the Coroner. It will be for a coroner to consider all the information and ultimately provide findings on a cause of death.”
The Herald understands that despite a detailed investigation, which included toxicology reports, the cause of death remains inconclusive.
It’s also understood police are not treating the death as a homicide investigation at this time.
A Corrections spokesman said the department appreciated this remained a difficult time for the family.
“Police are responsible for the investigation and any resulting charges, while the Coroner is responsible for determining cause of death, so your questions will need to be referred to police and the Coroner.
“We acknowledge that Mr Hemi’s family will have questions about his death, and it will be for the Coroner to determine the exact cause of his passing.”
The spokesman confirmed that no misconduct or disciplinary charges had been laid against another prisoner or Corrections staff relating to Hemi’s death.
Coronial inquests provided detailed, expert and impartial views of the circumstances surrounding a person’s death.
“If there are agreed findings and recommendations in relation to any aspect of our policy, process, practice or training as a result, then we will act on these.”
The Herald also sought comment from the Coroner’s office but did not receive a response before deadline.
A coroner’s spokeswoman earlier said it was too early to say whether the death was being investigated as a suspected suicide.
In April, Hemi’s family said they had heard nothing from police since the Herald first reported on the case in December last year.
“The family feel that there is a cover-up,” a family spokesperson said at the time.
“We feel that nobody is looking into it. We just want answers as to how he was killed to put closure to it.”
The family claimed an informant alleged Hemi had been bullied by his cellmate before his death, and he had asked to be moved to a different cell.
They also claimed unusual marks were found on Hemi’s body, which a funeral home told them had undergone an “extensive” post-mortem examination before being released to the family.
Late last year, sister Serina Tuatara said the family wanted to know why her brother wasn’t in segregation given his offending, and whether anyone else was involved in his death.
“I want justice for my brother.”
Hemi was serving six years in jail for two attacks on children.
In one, he broke into an Auckland home after defecating in the driveway and turning off the power, then entered an 11-year-old girl’s bedroom. He licked her face then punched her when she screamed.
Another involved the sexual violation of a boy aged under 12.
Hemi – who has more than 30 convictions – was jailed for three years and three months in 2021 for attacking the girl and given more jail time for the sexual violation in July 2023.
He was declined parole in September 2024 and had been due to reappear before the Parole Board last February.
Tuatara said prison staff told the family her brother was discovered unresponsive by his cellmate, who alerted guards.
But the family’s attempts to find out how he died had been frustrated by a lack of information, she said.
In April, a police spokesman said officers were still investigating the circumstances surrounding Hemi’s death and awaiting the results of a pathologist’s report.
“It’s in everyone’s best interest that we allow the detailed process to be carried out.
“Police will continue to liaise with whānau as there are updates in our inquiries.”
Tuatara said she helped dress her brother’s body for the tangi and discovered several unusual bruises and scratches.
“My brother’s body didn’t look right.
“The funeral home said his autopsy was very, very extensive. They’ve never seen one like that before.”
Desperate for answers, the family turned to social media.
An informant contacted the family alleging Hemi had been bullied by his cellmate.
“The cellmate was threatening him,” the informant wrote. “It turns out he was asking to be moved.”
Tuatara would not reveal the identity of the tipster, saying doing so could put people at risk.
“It’s like narking, mate, and you don’t nark. Snitches get stitches.”
Tuatara said not knowing how her brother died was “very hard”.
“I want to know what happened.”
A Corrections spokesman confirmed Hemi was in a double-bunked cell at the time of his death.
Prisoners could request to be segregated “at any time”.
Lane Nichols is Auckland Desk Editor and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years of experience in the industry.
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