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“I forgive you Jimmy. Have a good life.” 

Those were the words spoken to convicted murderer Jimmy Heremaia on Friday by the father of Ariki Rigby, the young woman who was killed and whose body was found in a burned-out car near Havelock North in 2022. 

Peta Rigby was one of several family members who gave emotional impact statements as Heremai was sentenced in the High Court at Napier, to life imprisonment. He will have to spend at least 12 years in jail before he is eligible for parole. 

He received a concurrent sentence of five years for arson in regard to the burning of the car. 

The friend who accompanied Heremaia to dispose of the car, and who bought the petrol used as an accelerant, Ropine Paul, 30, was sentenced to 12 months of home detention for being a party to arson. 

Peta Rigby came to court in a sweatshirt with the words “Faith Over Fear” on it. 

Speaking in a soft voice and quoting from the Bible, Peta Rigby turned to face Heremaia in the dock behind a glass screen and flanked by prison officers. 

“I forgive you for the murder of my daughter,” he said. 

Rigby was about four weeks short of her 19th birthday when Heremaia hit her with a hammer after an argument about her wearing his Mongrel Mob T-shirt. 

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Crown Solicitor Steve Manning said Rigby was not killed because she wore the shirt, but in the atmosphere of “fear and intimidation” from the gang after its code had been breached when she did so. 

Rigby and Heremaia had been planning to leave Hawke’s Bay together to get away from the gang when they ended up in a car together on the evening she died. 

They argued and “anger then took over”, Manning said. 

Ariki Rigby had known Heremaia for only 12 days before she died. 

He killed her at Bay View north of Napier and then drove to Havelock North, where he set fire to the car with her body still in it. 

Family and supporters overflow into second courtroom 

A large number of Ariki Rigby’s family and supporters filled the public gallery of Courtroom 2 at the Napier courthouse, with an overflow watching proceedings via video link in another courtroom next door. 

There was also a large security presence of police, court security staff and Corrections officers. 

Ariki’s mother, Maimaru Ngahuka, addressed the court and outlined the struggles she had had trying to come to terms with her daughter’s death. 

“Her death left me in space where I could not function. I felt lost,” she said. 

“The pain is a constant reminder that my baby is gone.” 

Heremaia’s counsel Sumudu Thode read out a letter from the killer, a father of five children, in which he said sorry to Rigby’s whānau. 

“My deepest apology to the family of Ariki Rigby for my stupid actions,” he said. 

Heremaia said in the letter there was no excuse for the way he acted on the night Rigby died. 

“I regret my actions… I wish I could go back and take back what I have done," the letter said. 

Investigation went on for two years 

Justice Jason McHerron acknowledged the Rigby family, and Peta Rigby’s forgiveness for his killer. 

“I know it has been a long and painful journey for you to reach this point,” the judge said. 

Heremaia and Paul were arrested last year after a two-year police investigation. 

Following several months in custody, and after he admitted the killing in a covertly taped conversation with an undercover police officer, Heremaia pleaded guilty in February to Rigby’s murder and the arson of the car. 

Ariki Rigby was 18 when she died in September 2022. Photo / Supplied 

Rigby died on or about the evening of September 2, 2022. 

Her body was found in the burned-out car in a riverside car park near Havelock North three days later. 

The court was told earlier that Heremaia was a patched member of the Flaxmere chapter of the Mongrel Mob. 

Between August 29 and September 2, 2022, he was driving back and forth between Wairoa and Napier in a grey Toyota sedan. 

He had borrowed it from his Mob captain on the pretence of needing a car for work. 

On one of these journeys, Rigby travelled with him. Some time in the last two days of August, she came into possession of the T-shirt. 

Ariki Rigby seen in T-shirt 

In the early hours of August 31, Rigby was seen wearing the shirt in public in Hastings by another patched Mongrel Mob member. 

Gang regalia is subject to rules. Allowing anyone else to wear it is seen by members as a serious violation – particularly if the non-gang member wearing it is female. 

In the words of a Crown summary of facts presented to the court: “Ms Rigby being seen wearing the Mongrel Mob t-shirt was the catalyst for the events that followed, and led to her death.” 

On September 2, Heremaia’s sister sent him a text message to say that his Mongrel Mob patch had been taken from the family home by gang members. 

“The removal of Mr Heremaia’s patch meant that he had been ‘de-patched’ from the Mongrel Mob because of the incident involving Ms Rigby and the Mongrel Mob t-shirt,” the summary of facts said. 

At 9.52pm, Heremaia met Rigby in Onekawa, Napier and she got into his car. 

They drove to Bay View, where they parked up. Rigby had brought a hammer with her as she feared for her safety. 

The two argued and Rigby swung the hammer at Heremaia. He blocked her, overpowered her, and took the hammer from her. 

He hit her twice in the head, causing skull and brain injuries which led to her death. 

Heremaia picked the young woman’s body up from the ground and put her in the back seat of the car. 

A scene tribute set-up by family and friends of Ariki Rigby after she was found dead in the River Road recreation reserve near Havelock North in September 2022. Photo / ��һ�ǿ����� 

He drove towards Napier, then to the rural area of Puketapu. He was in a panic, deciding what to do and how to dispose of Rigby’s body. 

Police later used CCTV footage and cellphone data to trace the journey. This also captured a Google search Heremaia made for “river parking”. 

Google search for ‘river parking’ 

Heremaia eventually made his way to Paul’s house in Havelock North, where he changed out of his blood-stained clothes into fresh ones his friend gave him. He put the soiled clothes in the car with Rigby’s body. 

Paul drove another car to the Mobil station in Havelock North, where he bought $70 worth of petrol. 

About 1.45am, CCTV cameras in Havelock North captured both vehicles being driven towards River Rd, where there is a carpark next to the Tukituki River. 

Rigby’s body was still face-down on the back seat of the Toyota. 

Heremaia parked the car, poured petrol through it and set it on fire. He then ran to Paul’s car a short distance away. 

It was then that Heremaia told Paul that he had killed Rigby. 

Police later inspected the burned-out car in the car park but mistook Rigby’s body for that of a sheep. 

Her body was identified as human remains after a man walking a dog took a closer look and raised the alarm. 

Family were ‘fierce advocates’ 

Detective Inspector Dave De Lange said in a statement that police were pleased to see justice done for Rigby’s family, who had been “fierce advocates” for her. 

“We know no sentence could ever make up for her loss. However, we hope today’s result offers some comfort to them,” De Lange said. 

“I would also like to acknowledge the investigation team, who put in many months of hard work to achieve this result. 

“This was a meticulous, difficult and complex investigation spanning multiple police districts and requiring many specialist skillsets,” De Lange said. 

“I thank you for your unwavering dedication to making an arrest and ensuring Ariki’s killer could be held to account.” 

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined ��һ�ǿ�����’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of frontline experience as a probation officer.