⚠️ Content Warning: This story contains graphic details of violence, murder, and arson that may be distressing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Loved ones of slain teen Ariki Rigby are gathering in Napier today for a memorial motorbike ride ahead of the sentencing of Mongrel Mob member Jimmy Heremaia, who murdered the 18-year-old in 2022 after an argument over a gang T-shirt.
Heremaia, who pleaded guilty to murder and arson, killed Rigby with two hammer blows to the head in Bay View, north of Napier, before setting her body alight in a car at a rural reserve near Havelock North.
Rigby’s family and friends will honour her memory with a noisy memorial ride from the site of her death to the Napier High Court, where Heremaia is due to be sentenced today.
“It’s about riding in her honour, making a whole lot of noise so her voice is heard,” said Michael Ngahuka, Rigby’s cousin and a Flaxmere-based pastor.
Heremaia’s violent attack was sparked after Rigby was seen wearing his Mongrel Mob T-shirt in public, an act considered a breach of the gang’s code, according to court documents.
The Auckland-based teen had been visiting family in Hawke’s Bay when she was killed in September 2022. The Crown said Heremaia later fled to South Auckland and remained silent about his crime for nearly three years until confessing to undercover police.
Police found Rigby’s body in a burned-out car at River Road Recreational Reserve, a scene that has haunted her family and shocked the community.
“My baby sister didn’t deserve to die like that,” said Ariki’s sister, Anaherā Rigby. “Nobody deserves to be beaten, shoved in the back of a car, and then torched.”
Anaherā has since become an advocate for tougher sentences for murder, calling for life imprisonment without parole for those convicted of taking a life.
“If you take a life, you shouldn’t be able to get out and live the rest of yours like nothing happened,” she said.
Heremaia’s sentencing marks a painful chapter of closure for Rigby’s family, who have fought for justice since her tragic death.