Relatives say Kahui family should talk to police

Parents Macsyne King and Chris Kahui at their twins' funeral on Saturday. Picture / Chris Skelton

Out-of-town members of the Kahui family are ashamed of their Auckland relatives' behaviour following the killing of 3-month-old twins Chris and Cru Kahui, one relative says.

The Kahui cousin, who refused to give her name, told the Herald yesterday that relatives "from the Port Waikato area" believed Auckland family members should talk to police "as soon as they can".

However, the Auckland-based Kahuis had a "first-things-first" attitude and finding the killer, or killers, would have to wait until the family "is good and ready", despite the fact the deaths were "hurting a lot of people", she said.

"For myself and my family, it's shameful."

The Kahuis have been criticised since police revealed last week that the family had been stonewalling detectives and had made a pact not to co-operate with the investigation.

The 3-month-old boys died, hours apart, in Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital last Sunday. Relatives initially took them to Middlemore Hospital.

Both infants had suffered brain damage.

One had a broken thighbone.

The cousin, who lives in Manurewa, said that though she understood how the family were feeling, "it's got to be settled soon".

"It's not over yet.

"I think they should be talking to police."

Though the cousin was "happy that the children are laid to rest", there was a "same old, same old" attitude within the family towards talking to the authorities.

She said the deaths of Chris and Cru, and the resulting media attention, had taken its toll on Kahui relatives.

"These people that know us, they know who we are, and they are asking about the babies and stuff."

But there was likely to be a few more family meetings before any co-operation with police was forthcoming, she said.

"This is a very sensitive thing, [but] there's going to be some discussion of the issues, to bring it all out."

The family's reticence was yesterday slammed by Maori leaders, with Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples urging the guilty to come forward "so those kids can rest in peace, so the whole of New Zealand can rest in peace".

And it was claimed yesterday that Middlemore Hospital social workers had raised concerns about an apparent lack of interest in the twins by their parents, Chris Kahui, aged 21, and Macsyne King, 27, in the weeks before their deaths.

Neither Middlemore Hospital nor police could be contacted to discuss the matter last night.

The twins were buried at Mangere Lawn Cemetery on Saturday, after a service at Manurewa Marae.