Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Murdered toddler Nia Glassie's killer mother back in prison

Anna Leask
By Anna Leask
Senior Journalist - crime and justice·NZ Herald·
24 Aug, 2016 09:01 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Nia Glassie, the 3-year-old toddler who was subjected to horrific abuse by her extended family. Photo / Supplied

Nia Glassie, the 3-year-old toddler who was subjected to horrific abuse by her extended family. Photo / Supplied

The mother of murdered toddler Nia Glassie has been recalled to prison after authorities became concerned that she was was "a risk to the community".

Lisa Kuka was jailed for nine years on two counts of manslaughter following 3-year-old Nia's brutal death in Rotorua in August 2007.

The case remains one of New Zealand's worst examples of child abuse.

Kuka was granted parole less than two years ago, but is now back behind bars after she allegedly breached her release conditions by living at an unapproved property.

She appeared in the Manukau District Court earlier this month charged with breaching parole and was subsequently recalled to prison.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She is yet to be sentenced but a final recall order was granted and she is back in prison.

READ MORE:
Nia Glassie murderers jailed for minimum 17.5 years
61 little names on New Zealand's roll of dishonour

"Following a prompt Department of Corrections application based on their monitoring of the offender's compliance with release conditions, and their view she was a risk to the community, Ms Kuka was recalled by the Board on 22 August," a Parole Board spokesman confirmed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Corrections northern region acting operations manager Ana Cullen said Kuka had moved to an unapproved address without the permission of her probation officer.

That resulted in what Corrections allege were "several breaches" of her conditions.

Cullen did not specify what those breaches were.

When Kuka was released from prison on 22 September 2014 she was ordered to abide by strict conditions until her sentence end-date in October 2017 including:

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Nia Glassie abuser's baby taken at birth

05 Nov 04:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Abusers of toddler Nia Glassie in and out of jail

03 Oct 05:00 PM

• A curfew of 11pm-5am

• Notifying her probation officer "before entering into an intimate relationship"

• Obtaining approval from her probation officer before contacting any of her five surviving children or before having any child under the age of 16 stay with her overnight.

• No contact with her co-offenders without written consent from probation

• Kuka was also banned from initiating any contact with journalists including via Twitter, Facebook, websites or blogs and has been told she must say "no comment" to any request for an interview or information and to discourage friends and family from media contact.

The conditions were set by the board and Kuka's compliance monitored by her probation officer for Corrections.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Nia's mother Lisa Kuka was convicted on two counts of manslaughter. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post
Nia's mother Lisa Kuka was convicted on two counts of manslaughter. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

"Our primary priority is the safety of the community," said Cullen.

"An offender can be recalled if they pose an undue risk to the safety of the community, have breached their release conditions, have committed an offence punishable by imprisonment or, if subject to residential restrictions, their address becomes unsuitable or unavailable."

In February this year Kuka appeared before the board for a monitoring hearing during which they reviewed her conduct while on parole.

"Ms Kuka has made solid progress on parole. She is in a very stable environment. There is no need for the Board to see her again for a further monitoring hearing," said convenor Neville Trendle, a barrister and retired police officer.

Kuka had earlier been refused parole in 2013, with the board ruling she remained an "an undue risk to the safety of the community".

At the time the board heard that Kuka had "taken a long time to come to terms with her responsibility for the death of her daughter".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Only through psychological counselling had she acknowledge her role in the "persistent and violent abuse, and ultimate death" of Nia.

The death of Nia Glassie

Nia died on August 3, 2007 from head injuries. She had been in Starship Hospital on life support for 13 days before she passed away.

It later emerged that the toddler had been subjected to horrific ongoing abuse which shocked and angered New Zealanders.

Nia had been put in a clothes dryer spinning for 30 minutes on a hot setting, hung on a clothesline and spun around, held over a burning fire, used to practise wrestling moves, folded into a couch and sat upon, shoved into piles of rubbish and cold baths, dragged half naked through a sandpit, thrown at walls and dropped from heights, and had various objects hurled at her.

Little Nia was also kicked, slapped, beaten and jumped on.

Nia Glassie's grave. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post
Nia Glassie's grave. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

The abuse was mainly perpetrated by Kuka's then-partner Wiremu Curtis and his brother Michael, while she was at work.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The brothers had decided they did not like Nia, that she was "ugly" and they began to abuse, attack and assault her for their own entertainment.

After the fatal attack on Nia in July 2007, believed to be repeated kicks to her head, she was left for 33 hours before medical help was sought.

Kuka found Nia had wet her bed, which was unusual, and would not wake up. She bathed the child, who was effectively unconscious.

But she did nothing to help the injured girl until the next day, after Kuka had spent the night celebrating Michael Curtis' 21st birthday.

As Kuka, the Curtis brothers and others partied outside at their rented Rotorua house, Nia lay dying in her bed.

When she was admitted to Starship Nia's brain damage was so severe that she could no longer breathe for herself.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A jury found the Curtis brothers guilty of Nia's murder.

Kuka was convicted of two counts of manslaughter - one for failing to provide Nia the necessaries of life and the other for failing to protect the child from violence, thereby causing her death.

NIa's cousin Michael Pearson and his partner Oriwa Kemp were found not guilty of manslaughter, but convicted of assaulting the little girl.

Kuka will appear before the Parole Board again in November.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

live
Rotorua Daily Post

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin
live

Wild weather set to ease across the country, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 06:00 PM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP