'Why was he released?': Questions over home invader who went on to murder just hours later

Just hours before teenager Tailasa Pongia stabbed a man to death during a fight in South Auckland, he was involved in a terrifying “home invasion” in Palmerston North. 

Yesterday Pongia was jailed for 18 years after he admitted murdering 19-year-old Greig Temarama-Abela on August 1 last year. 

He avoided a life sentence due, in part, to his age, “impulsivity” and prospect of rehabilitation. 

And the court heard that at the time of the murder, while Pongia had “helped another or others commit a burglary” the day before - he had “no other criminal record”. 

The Herald can now reveal that on July 31, Pongia, then 19, and others stormed onto a property where a man was spending the evening with his wife, daughter and baby granddaughter. 

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - October 08: Tailasa Pongia appears at Auckland High Court Criminal Callover before The Hon Justice Downs. Photograph by Michael Craig/New Zealand Herald 08 October 2025, 

Pongia was arrested and released on bail in the early hours of August 1. 

He travelled back to Auckland and shortly before midnight on the same day, murdered 19-year-old Greig Kelvin Temarama-Abela. 

Police are satisfied they handled Pongia’s earlier arrest properly. 

The victim of the home invasion disagrees. 

He cannot understand why Pongia was released so quickly and believes the fatal offending that followed could have been prevented. 

He spoke to the Herald about his ordeal, and shared the footage of the offenders converging on his family home, captured on security cameras. 

The victim's security cameras captured the men - who he did not know - leaping over his fence and storming towards his house. 

One man can clearly be seen passing a bat to another as they intrude on the family home. 

The footage clearly shows the offenders passing a weapon to each other - which looks to be a bat. 

However police confirmed Pongia was charged with wielding a knife during the same incident. 

Otara: the murder of Greig Temarama-Abela 

In August Pongia, now 20, pleaded guilty to murdering Temarama-Abela. 

He also admitted a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to another man he stabbed during the same fight. 

This morning Pongia was sentenced in the High Court at Auckland to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of xxx 

Court documents released to the Herald earlier this year outline how Pongia had been drinking with four friends at a Bairds Rd home in Ōtara just before midnight on August 1 last year when three young men - including Temarama-Abela and the other victim - showed up on foot at the front fence. 

The visitors, who had also been drinking in a home about a kilometre away, had an “unresolved dispute” with one of Pongia’s friends. 

“A verbal exchange ensued, which escalated into shouting profanities and physical challenges,” the police summary of facts said. 

Greig Kelvin Temarama-Abela died after he was stabbed by Tailasa Pongia in a South Auckland street fight. Photo / Supplied 

“The confrontation spilled outwards onto Bairds Road, where more members of the defendant’s group joined in. A widespread physical altercation broke out, with members of both groups throwing punches and fighting. 

“At an unknown point, Mr Pongia armed himself with a knife.” 

Temarama-Abela turned away from Pongia, who stabbed him in the upper back. 

The 8.5cm deep wound entered through Temarama-Abela’s ribs and fatally cut a small internal artery, resulting in a fatal haemorrhage, a pathologist would later determine. 

A half-centimetre incision was also found on his upper arm. 

The other victim witnessed the stabbing and punched Pongia, causing him to drop to his knees. 

He managed to stand up and adopted a boxing stance as he faced off with the puncher. He then lunged forward and stabbed the man in the abdomen. 

“The fighting continued intermittently, and both groups moved towards the intersection of Bairds Road and Wymondley Road,” court documents state. 

The scene of the murder. Photo / Hayden Woodward 

“However, the fighting eventually petered off, and the groups began to disperse. 

“By this point, Mr Temarama-Abela sat down at the intersection of Wymondley Road and Laxon Avenue. He quickly lost consciousness.” 

He was pronounced dead a short time later at Middlemore Hospital. 

Pongia initially told police he had been asleep and knew nothing of the confrontation. 

Palmerston North: the home invasion 

Soon after Pongia was arrested for murder, the victim in Palmerston North reached out to the Herald to share his story. 

The victim, who did not want his name published to protect his family, was at home with his wife, daughter and seven-month-old granddaughter when the terrifying ordeal unfolded. 

The men converged on the victim's house, where his seven-month-old granddaughter was sleeping. 

The man has a criminal history but has not had any convictions since 2013. 

He said all hell broke loose just after an old friend came to visit. 

The victim suspects that friend may have some kind of connection to Pongia and or his co-offenders. 

However the victim said he did not know, or have any connection to any of the men who converged on his family home that night. 

“They came straight in, they tried to get through my gate and I closed it thinking ‘what the f***s going on here? One of them had a weapon in his hand, like a baseball bat and he jumped straight over the fence and I gapped it,” he said. 

“I made it inside and my wife was standing there holding the baby… I grabbed the door handle, and they were trying to rip the door handle open. 

“It all happened so fast… They ran off because my dog started barking - one of them started shouting ‘pitbull, pitbull’ and they took off.” 

The victim said during the incident the men also attacked his mate out on the street. 

The victim's mate being chased down the street by the offenders, before he was assaulted. 

The assault was also caught on camera but no one was charged with anything related to that part of the incident. 

The victim’s wife called 111 and set off the panic alarm in the house. 

He said while she was on the phone several of the group came back “for a second run” at his home. 

They managed to get the gate open… they came to the house and started smashing windows.” 

The victim gave a full statement to police and sent CCTV footage to assist the investigation. 

He later found out that just two of the group were arrested. 

Soon after, they were released and “told to go back to Auckland”. 

Pongia during a High Court callover after he was charged with murder. Photo / NZME 

“They f***ing jumped my fence, and they tried to kick their way in my house and threaten not only me but my partner and my daughter and my granddaughter… and they got bailed?” the victim said, shocked. 

“The police f***ing let them go and he committed a more serious crime hours later. Can you just imagine the family of that young man who was stabbed? They’ve lost their son, they’re going to read this and they’re gonna go ’what the f**k?” 

“Their boy could be with them today… the only reason why I’m pushing this story is because I feel for that family… it’s f***ed up, it’s not good.” 

Police: why Pongia was released 

Police stood by their decision to release Pongia on bail. 

Central District crime manager Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan confirmed Pongia was later convicted of “burglary and unlawful possession of a knife and sentenced”. 

The other offender admitted charges of “unlawfully entering an enclosed yard” and was discharged without conviction. 

Sheridan said at the time of the arrest, the offenders “did not meet the threshold to be remanded in custody”. 

“They were both released on police bail in the early hours of Friday 1 August,” he said. 

Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan. Photo / NZME 

“He had appropriate and enforceable bail conditions, which included being forbidden from entering Palmerston North, and to reside at an Auckland address. 

“Police conduct rigorous risk assessments at the time of any arrest, and this individual’s initial offence did not meet the strict legal threshold under the Bail Act 2000 to hold him in custody. 

“Police understand that the outcome of the Palmerston North investigation was not what the victim of that incident and their family were hoping for; however, the file was reviewed at the time, and I am satisfied that police exhausted all possible lines of enquiry.” 

The victim is considering a complaint to the IPCA. 

“It’s just the slackness… it’s f***ed up, it’s not good,” he said. 

“I mean, if I jump a fence and I go into a property and I start lurking around with a bat and a black hood on… smashing windows, I’m going to jail…” 

Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz.