Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

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

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

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

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

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 / Whanganui Chronicle

TV hopeful 'tears down wall'

By Nathan Crombie
Whanganui Chronicle·
25 Feb, 2015 06:07 PM3 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

NEW HOME: Shae Brider says he left Wanganui to give the Frew family space following the completion of his prison term.PHOTO/NATHAN CROMBIE WTA250215NCXFACTOR

NEW HOME: Shae Brider says he left Wanganui to give the Frew family space following the completion of his prison term.PHOTO/NATHAN CROMBIE WTA250215NCXFACTOR

One of the men convicted of the manslaughter of Wanganui teenager Jeremy Frew and who appeared on X Factor on Tuesday night said he has "done everything I can to be respectful to the [Frew] family".

Now living in Masterton, Shae Brider said he is not asking for mercy or pity after his X Factor audition but says his success was simply "tearing down another wall" to escape a life he left in a prison cell years ago.

Mr Brider, 29, of Te Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi and Ngati Kahungunu, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail for his part in the killing of 16-year-old Jeremy Frew in Wanganui in 2004.

He was then 19 and after serving six years at Wanganui Prison, he shifted to Masterton out of respect for the Frew family.

"I've done everything I can to be respectful to the family. I took myself away from my home town in order to give them space, and I've never gone back there because of that. That's their right. Their son was taken from them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said prison was life-changing and besides a driving offence, he had remained clear of convictions since his release.

"I grew up in there. I was a teenager when I went in and I came out a man. I was in the Maori Focus Unit for the last two-and-a-half years and that really spun my perspective.

"All my mates were thieves growing up, and everyone got up to shit.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"No one believed I was Maori because of my white skin. It wasn't till I went to the Maori Focus Unit I found out what being a Maori actually meant."

Brider has family in Wairarapa and was now in occasional contact with only one of his three co-offenders, his brother-in-law, but had not spoken or associated with the other two "for a while, for a long time".

"I don't contact them. There's no need any more. What happened is not me. It's something that happened but it doesn't define who I am."

He married in Wairarapa a year ago and about the same time landed a job at a Masterton service station, where a constant flow of customers was yesterday wishing him well in his X Factor bid.

Brider said in a background piece for his appearance on X Factor that Jeremy Frew was his friend.

"I met some dudes and we went to a bonfire ... there was a commotion with two of them and one of them stabbed the other one and he ended up passing away, who was also my friend, the guy that died.

"So we got jointly charged for it and I went to prison for six years."

In a statement following controversy over Brider's appearance on the talent show, TV3 said: "Shae disclosed his criminal record when he entered The X Factor NZ and as a standard part of the process a police check was run.

"It was important to include this part of Shae's background in last night's episode, and as is the case with all contestants, this was done in his own words. The X Factor NZ acknowledges the impact Shae's past actions have had on his victims, and apologises for any distress that has been caused by last night's episode."

The Chronicle contacted members of the Frew family yesterday but they had not made a comment by the time this issue went to press.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai “Tarsh” Kemp moved to burial ground

30 Jun 11:09 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

'Clear message community wants action' on former school site

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Opinion: The quest for the perfect wedding dress continues

30 Jun 05:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai “Tarsh” Kemp moved to burial ground

Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai “Tarsh” Kemp moved to burial ground

30 Jun 11:09 PM

Takutai Moana Natasha "Tarsh" Kemp died, aged 50, after battling kidney disease.

'Clear message community wants action' on former school site

'Clear message community wants action' on former school site

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion: The quest for the perfect wedding dress continues

Opinion: The quest for the perfect wedding dress continues

30 Jun 05:00 PM
Community funding initiative 'a leading approach'

Community funding initiative 'a leading approach'

30 Jun 02:20 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

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