- Kei nga manukura o te motu, tau mai ki Te Hui. Welcome to The Hui ` Maori current affairs for all Aotearoa. E taro ake nei ` - A night of celebration turned into a senseless murder. - The look he gave me... (SNIFFLES, SIGHS) The look he gave me ` it was just like he was saying, 'Auntie, it's over. 'I'm not gonna get out of this.' - A young father savagely attacked and killed. - I was talking to telling him, just telling him,... 'Please don't go. 'You have a family, kids... 'to go home to.' - And a teenager out of control. - You say, quote, 'I love the life I live ` 'love being mischief, being bad. I thrive off it.' - We look into the tragic murder of Jamaine Wharton. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 - Tahuti mai. On Saturday the 27th of February 2021, father of five Jamaine Wharton was beaten, chased and fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack. More than a year and a half later, Jamaine's whanau are still struggling to come to terms with the events that unfolded that fateful night. They've asked us to share his story to honour the memory of this much-loved father, partner, brother and friend. Here's part one of a special three-part report by journalist John Boynton and producer Janet MacIntyre. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - In a valley fringed by the Urewera Ranges sits the small village of Waiohau ` a quiet, isolated place where only a few hundred people live. - Waiohau is our home, so it's just a proud feeling to be from here. Everyone knows each other; everyone's related. - Nothing really changes. Everything's always the same. - But things did change in February 2021 ` (ALL SING 'HARI HURITAU') A 21st birthday bringing together local whanau and guests from out of town... (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) ...turned into gang-fuelled chaos. - (BARKS) - That almost felt like the devil was in the house. It's exactly what it was. - One of the party guests, 31-year-old Jamaine Wharton, was surrounded, then chased from the club rooms. - I know my nephew's harmless. He doesn't like fighting, never has. - Beaten, stabbed to death in the middle of the night, just metres from his whanau urupa... - He would've been scared. He honestly would've been scared. - ...while his partner and their children were at home waiting for him. - TEARFULLY: 'He's dead. 'He died on me. (GASPS) 'What the hell am I gonna tell our babies?' - So how did a 21st birthday out in the peaceful and quiet valley of Waiohau at the local rugby club rooms end with the murder of Jamaine Wharton on the whenua he loved? He was a family man with no known gang connections. He wasn't a fighter. Yet he was targeted by men wearing Mongrel Mob red ` some who would end up killing him. What do you think he did to deserve this? - Nothing. The type of nephew, the type of man he was ` nothing. And he wouldn't have done anything or said anything apart from, 'Don't disrespect our whenua.' (SOMBRE STRING MUSIC) - The Waiohau Rugby Clubroom is the hub and heart of the community. - Happy memories. Many birthdays. Much fun. - A sacred place on the grounds of the marae ` That's where Sharon Ranui, Jamaine's auntie, had seen only the best of times. - Really full with people and photos. Photos everywhere. And, just, everyone happy. I still can walk in here, but when I talk about Jamaine,... many flashes come back of the night of the birthday. - Sharon helped to raise Jamaine and his siblings here before he moved to the coast, lured by work as a fisherman and his love of Tangaroa. (WAVES CRASH) - Wow! Just trying to get the boys onboard. - But his heart was always in Waiohau. - He wouldn't wish to be anywhere else except for when he's out there on the boats, fishing. - Is he someone who would often come back for events like birthdays and tangi? - Yeah. Anything. - He'd be around? - Yeah, he never really liked to miss out on much ` Jamaine. - And he didn't want to miss out on the chance of love. Four years ago, he first met Rachel Cairns. - Thinking of you, my darling. I miss you heaps. Love you, though. (KISSES) I love you. I love you; I love you; I love you. I'll see you when I get back in, my darling. - Jamaine and Rachel were soon living together in Whakatane with their combined, young whanau. - He'd come in like a storm and, not only love me, but love my children, too. No hesitation, no... no nothing. Like... He was grateful. - By the time their own baby son Deltora came along, Jamaine had turned his back on a one-time drug habit and turned his attention to his young family... - His, like, very hun-gy. Om! - ...and his partner. - Wanna hop on? Yeah? 'He loved me. I'd never had that. 'And I loved him. It just went both ways. 'And we knew that in each other. No matter what life threw at us ` we had each other. 'We have our son. 'That was supposed to be my gift to him.' Smile. He's so pretty. - Definitely having kids, yeah, helped change him. - His youngest sister, Jasmine, was among many who'd noticed him settling down. - Having a supportive partner changed him ` having that family` a family, yeah. - I thought I'd take my boys to the Tarawera Falls. We on the mish. Eh, Azzie? - Yeah! - RACHEL: He loved all five of them. They were his tribe. 'Come on, my tribe.' (LAUGHS) - His tribe was the reason he initially turned down an invitation to the 21st in Waiohau and a chance to reconnect with his wider whanau. - He wasn't actually meant to come. He told us he was gonna spend the weekend with his children. Yeah. But then, knowing Jamaine, he just had to get himself here. - Sharon and her whanau made an effort to put the party together in honour of her son's partner, who we've chosen not to name. - Being a 21st, it was special to my daughter-in-law. So we just wanted to give her all we could to make your day special. - She's an important part of your whanau? - Very important. Yeah. - Also invited here were the birthday girl's whanau from out of town, some with links to the Mongrel Mob. They were guests on this marae. Many of them are known to the host, but everyone knew there was a risk of trouble. - She didn't want no gang clothing or any actions that represent, and she was very clear (CHUCKLES) that she'd spoken to her family. - So she didn't want them to wear colours or patches? - No. No colours, patches. No. - Did drawing that line cause any tension for her and her whanau? - No. She just said it's either that, or don't come. - On the day of the party, at home in Whakatane, Jamaine changed his mind about going. - I said, 'You're whole family's gonna be there, love ` 'your cousins, your aunties, everybody. 'I'll see you tomorrow. 'Be careful. Have fun. 'Just promise me you'll come home.' 'Yeah, Mum, I promise I'll come home. 'I love you.' 'I love you too, babe.' I was kind of mad, so I didn't kiss him on the lips, and kissed me on the back of the head. VOICE BREAKS: And he kind of, like, stood at the door, waiting. And I looked, and he was like, 'I love you.' 'I love you too, Babe. Just come home, please.' 'Look, I promise.' - The day of the 21st began without a hitch. - We were there early in the morning just to help. And here whanau was there too, helping ` her auntie, her mum, her dad. - The birthday girl's mother is Kelly Tutakangahau, who the courts have heard has whanau in the Mongrel Mob. Sharon says she too has relatives in gangs, including Black Power, but Jamaine was not among them. Was there any link there, any affiliations to gangs? - Jamaine was not affiliated with gangs, any gang. - Sharon says she and Kelly made a pact before the party. - That if either of us had trouble, if our families had trouble, that we would diffuse any situation and make sure we just` everyone has a great night. That's what we discussed. - But that's not what happened. - As a district court would hear, Kelly Tutakangahau not only failed to defuse tension on that night, she incited the first punch. (TENSE MUSIC) Coming up ` the party partygoer who tried to save Jamaine. - I remember screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Run, brother! Just run!' - And the killers learn their fate. - Your offending involves a senseless and savage beating of an innocent man who had done nothing whatsoever to provoke you. - Hoki mai ano. 'Someone help me. I'm going to die.' These are among the last words uttered by Jamaine Wharton as he lay bleeding to death next to his whanau urupa in the Bay of Plenty settlement of Waiohau. Jamaine had been the target of a sustained and savage beating which culminated in him being stabbed three times. So what was it that incited the violence? Anei te wahanga tuarua o tenei ripoata. - At the Rotorua High Court, the two men responsible for the death of Jamaine Wharton are waiting to hear their fate from Justice Paul Davison. - The sentences that I shall impose on you are for the purpose of holding you accountable for what you have done. - 18-year-old Kayleb Renata and 28-year-old Roger Tutakangahau. - In your world, ganging up together to violently attack an effectively defenceless man is regarded as a sign of being tough when, in fact, it shows you to be the cowards you truly are. - The defendants had been guests at a 21st birthday in Waiohau that ran long into the night, so too was Tia Kohu. How did you feel walking into that party? - Anxious. I remember putting my drinks down and looking at my cousin like, Ooh. Oh, I don't know about this. - She was excited to catch up with her mate Jamaine, but also uncomfortable with the presence of the Mongrel Mob. - Just heaps of young, red hooligans all over the show. It was all mobbed out. - Roger and Kayleb flaunting their allegiance to the Mob. - (BARKS) - A lot of barking, a lot of singing on the karaoke. Everyone was actually lit, so they were pretty drunk by the time we got there. - People were wearing red, but then we started noticing gang-affiliated clothes. So, that's when it got quite intimidating. - At his trial, the court heard Roger Tutakangahau confronted Jamaine because he was wearing a black cap, accusing him of being a member of Black Power. - Oh, he had different coloured hats, you know? But a black cap, like... You know, I was wearing a black dress. My partner had a black T shirt on. You know, we had no links. Jamaine had no links to any gangs. None, zero at all. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - It's still not clear what triggered the violence in the early hours of that Sunday morning. But there was an altercation between Jamaine and the birthday girl's brother, Roger Tutakangahau. By this stage, a large amount of alcohol had been consumed. There was spitting, barking on that stage ` talk of glares being exchanged. All of a sudden, the birthday party erupted. (INAUDIBLE) The birthday girl's mother, Kelly Tutakangahau, would admit in court she encouraged her son Roger to punch Jamaine. - She was angry and yelling, 'He's smart. He needs a hiding. 'We want a one-out.' - Swearing at him and calling him a n-(BLEEP) And I'm like, 'We didn't come here for this. It's your daughter's 21st. - I tried to tell Kelly, 'We need to diffuse this. 'We need to stop this; we talked about this.' She wasn't gonna hear of it. 'Nah, he needs to be taught a lesson. 'Need a one-out.' - The 'one-out' Kelly wanted was a one-on-one fight between her son Roger and Jamaine. Tia too stepped in. So you confronted her? - Oh yeah, definitely. Because I'm like, 'He's doing nothing. 'He didn't do anything to you.' - Kelly Tutakangahau would be criminally charged for her part in the attack on Jamaine. She told her son Roger, 'Son, just punch him in the mouth and get it over and done with.' And that's what Roger did. - He jumped straight on that table and just ran straight to Jamaine and smacked him straight in the head. - You see that first punch connect with Jamaine. What do you do next? - Run straight towards him to go and lift him and run. - So you physically pick him up? - I picked him up off the ground. - Tia says she herself was attacked as she tried to protect Jamaine. - All I remember is being whacked ` my head, my back being punched and kicked. - Jamaine just stood there and stared at me. The look he gave me` (SNIFFLES) The look he gave me, it was just like he was saying, 'Auntie, it's over. I'm not gonna get out of this.' - The fight escalated outdoors, down the road to the urupa. - I'd just seen all these people... just chasing him. And I remember screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Run, brother! Just run!' - The court heard that Roger Tutakangahau ordered Kayleb Renata to chase after Jamaine, shouting, 'Get him, dog, get him.' Renata, just 16 at the time of the attack, was the only defendant to give evidence at trial. His testimony has been re-voiced by an actor. - Just like a natural instinct of mine, you know? When a fight's going on, I just jump in. I caught up to Jamaine; I grabbed him, threw to the ground and was kicking him, punching him, and then he managed to get back up. I could feel something jiggling, like feeling around in my pocket. And I put my hand in and realised I still had the knife on me from that day, early on. - A pocket knife Renata says cases he'd been using earlier in the day in his job as a farmhand. - So I stabbed him twice, and then he dropped to the ground. And then I stabbed him once more, and then I backed off. - One of those stab wounds penetrated his lung, another penetrated his liver. They were obviously forceful blows. He did not attempt to fight back. He only tried to defend himself and get away from you. By the time you inflicted the fatal stab wounds, he had already been severely beaten and was still trying to escape. - Stabbed and bleeding out on the ground, Jamaine was then kicked by a third defendant, Billie-Dean Raina, before other partygoers carry Jamaine back to the clubroom, and Tia helped him into Sharon's car. - My cousin and a couple of other bros picking his legs up, and me just grabbing him by his belt and pulling him on to me. - So you weren't getting any response from him? - I could just faintly hear his breathing. - I drove as fast as I could. Tia was in the back with him, sitting there holding him, crying and really freaking out, saying, 'We're losing him.' - TEARFULLY: I was talking to him, just telling him, 'Please don't go. 'You have a family and kids... to go home to. - But it was too late. Jamaine died on his way to Whakatane Hospital. (MAN PERFORMS HAKA) (ALL PERFORM HAKA) Coming up ` the teenaged killer with no remorse. - RAPS: # Why you (BLEEP) playin'. I'ma be sprayin'. # One by one, you bitches tryna act tough... # - You say, quote, 'I love the life I live ` 'love being mischief, being bad. I thrive off it.' - What lies ahead for Kayleb? - Knowing how it works on the inside, is that he'd be taken under the wing and further coached by the Mob. It's likely that he could end up being a full blown member by the time he gets out. Kiwis definitely do Christmas differently. Sitting with your friends and your family outside with your jandals on, nice barbeque going. Getting your house spruced up ready for Christmas, it's really good, you wanna impress your family show off what you've done. Nice deck, bit of furniture, good barbeque. There's a lot of, lot of products we've got that can make your house look mint for the season coming and I guess for your family and friends as well. If you really want to get the most value, Bunnings is the best place to come. Hands down. BUNNINGS WAREHOUSE Whatever you're doing for Christmas, we're here to help. - Father of five Jamaine Wharton was murdered for wearing an item of clothing most people wouldn't think twice about ` a black baseball cap. The man found guilty of murdering Jamaine was just 16 at the time of the attack. His accomplice was found guilty on the lesser charge of manslaughter. In this next part, we look at what may lie ahead for Jamaine's teenaged killer and how Jamaine's whanau are dealing with the aftermath of his death. - 18 months after Jamaine's murder, his whanau get to confront his killers in court. - How could you both do something so cruel, something so inhumane, right on our very own marae on a road I drive past every day. - Justice Davison took into account the defendants' backgrounds. Both grew up in the Mongrel Mob and had been exposed to violence and substance abuse. He noted Kayleb Renata, 16 at the time of the offending, displayed symptoms of a personality disorder, - ...of which include aggressive and destructive behaviour, violence, violation of social rules and a high level of disregard for others, which includes a lack of remorse and difficulty feeling empathy for others. - RAPS: # It ain't the same when you step into the hustle game. # Got all the haters out there screaming out my name. - The court heard Kayleb Renata's mother was an addict who was mostly absent, and his father was deeply involved in the Mongrel Mob. - You were frequently exposed to criminal offending whilst in his care. - Kayleb seriously assaulted his brother at age 13 and was using methamphetamine a year later. - That's a familiar story. You know, to be born into that environment, that's all they're gonna know. - David Letele has walked in Kayleb's shoes. He was a Mongrel Mob president at the age of 19 and committed serious crimes. What is so attractive about joining a gang at that age? - Oh, just the reckless mindset. Perhaps a sense of belonging. Especially if it's in the rural area where there's not much around for young people. - In the '80s, he was sentenced to 10 years' prison for armed robbery. - There was a glamour side to it, not knowing that there was gonna be some big consequences in that lifestyle. - Was it glamourous? - It is to start with. But then you become that` you get to realise that it's actually a dead-end street. - He knows what could lie ahead in prison for Kayleb Renata. - He'd be taken under the wing and further coached by the Mob. It's likely that he could end up being a full blown member by the time he gets out. - Has what he's done Does that give him any honour within the Mob? - There'd be no shame in it. He'd be welcomed. Put it that way. - So that violence is rewarded? - Well,... it's accepted. - Dave's turned his life around, now running the Grace Foundation. He's dedicated to working with offenders, helping them rebuild their lives ` young men like Kayleb Renata. - I still believe he's a victim ` a victim of not getting the proper care from the beginning, you know. Where would he have been if he was born into a good, caring place with Mum and Dad on board? Who knows where Kayleb would have ended up? - Sounds like you think he's not responsible for his actions. - There's no excuse, you know, regardless of the background. All I'm saying is that the background has a lot to do with where he ended up and the choice he ended up making. - Kayleb Renata, on the charge of murdering Jamaine Wharton, I sentence to life imprisonment, and I impose a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 years. Roger Tutakangahau, now for the manslaughter of Jamaine Wharton, I sentence you to five years and six months' imprisonment. - Hey, is she gonna do a race with us? - For Sharon Ranui, the sentences do little to fill the void left by Jamaine's passing. - That feeling will never go away for all of us. It's always gonna be there ` That sort of Jamaine missing. Whirlpool. Ooh, I can feel it already. 'Family makes us strong 'to move forward, to deal with any situations.' And I'd say this will be the worst that we've had to deal with. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Hi! - Hi. - Dad. Boat. - Dad. Have fun, boat. (SNIFFLES) TEARFULLY: This is the place I come to remember him and not how he was stolen. - Rachel Cairns brings her tamariki to the Whakatane Heads to connect with Jamaine. - So it's good to go back and remember how goofy he was. - JAMAINE: Open those gates for us, my darling! Don't get a shock! Thank you. (LAUGHS CHEEKILY) Hi. - How we loved life, the ocean, the beach, our kids. - (KISSES) You wanna wake up and watch some cartoons, eh? - I feel closer. There's your dad. He's in our everyday life still, just not physically. - If he were with you now, what do you think he'd be saying? - I just heard, 'Well done, Mum.' (SNIFFLES) 'You're doing good.' (GASPS) 'Just keep going. 'Keep loving our children.' (POIGNANT GUITAR MUSIC) - JAMAINE, ECHOING: I love you. I love you; I love you; I love you. I'll see you when I get back, eh, my darling? - Na John Boynton tera purongo. And it was produced by Janet MacIntyre. The third defendant in that story, Billie-Dean Raina, was charged with the murder of Jamaine Wharton alongside Kayleb Renata and Roger Tutakangahau. However, Raina was acquitted of his charges at trial at the Rotorua High Court earlier this year. Roger Tutakangahau, who was found guilty for the manslaughter of Jamaine Wharton, has since filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence. We want to acknowledge Jamaine's whanau and the community of Waiohau. E mihi ana ki a koutou katoa. Kati, kua hikina Te Hui. Noho ora mai ra. Captions by Jessie Puru. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 - Ko te reo te take. - Na Te Puna Whakatongarewa Te Hui i tautoko.