Two cousins found guilty of murder and attempted murder

Two cousins have been found guilty of murdering a man executed in a gang shooting and attempting to murder his wife.

Mesui Tufui and Fisilau Tapaevalu have been on trial at the High Court at Auckland charged with murdering Abraham Tu'uheava and attempting to murder his wife Yolanda. 

On Friday, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict finding both defendants guilty. 

In April 2018, Abraham Tu'uheava was lured to Greenwood Rd in Māngere, south Auckland for a potential drug deal, the court heard during the trial.

There, he was shot at least seven times and died within minutes. It was a "miracle" his wife survived after she was shot multiple times in the head, the court was told.

During the trial, she gave evidence via CCTV with a bullet still lodged in her head.

She became tearful at times as she recalled the last moments she spent with her husband. 

The court heard a member of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club had given the "green light" for the shooting after bad blood had formed between the gang and Tu'uheava, a patched member of the Nomads.

Tufui denied being at Greenwood Rd on the night of the shooting, despite Yolanda Tu'uheava later identifying him in a photo board from her hospital bed. 

Tapaevalu admitted to being at Greenwood Rd but said he did not get out of the car and did not know a shooting was going to happen. 

He was a "hang around" of the Comanchero gang at the time, but was elevated to a prospect the week after Tu'uheava's death.

A week before the trial started, their cousin Villiami Taani pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted murder and will be sentenced later this year.

Tufui and Taepaevalu will be sentenced on August 2.

Justice Graham Lang also gave both cousins their first strike warning. 

Family members of the defendants became tearful at the back of the court as the verdicts were read out.

 

 

Photo file/Facebook Caption: Abraham Tu'uheava was killed in a gang shooting