'WE WERE ALMOST BROKEN'

After a friend's bitter betrayal, Francis and Kaiora's marriage took a bad turn

- Wendyl Nissen

It was two years of hell Francis and Kaiora Tipene never expected or planned for.

The stars of the hit TV show The Casketeers had no idea that their “sister” Fiona Bakulich, who appeared regularly on the show, was illegally working behind the scenes at their funeral home to bring shame on the business they had built from scratch since 2016.

By the end of the ordeal, Francis would admit himself into rehab for alcohol abuse, their marriage would be in serious trouble and Kaiora would be forced to bring in legal counsel to get incorrect stories about them in the media corrected.

“Tipene Funerals is not just our work – it is our life,” says Francis. “We trusted Fiona to look after our Pacific Island families because she knew their beliefs and tikanga [customs]. We treated her as whānau, as our sister, and we thought that she was treating them well.”

But she wasn’t. In April, she pleaded guilty to 14 charges – 12 obtained by deception charges relating to false costs and two charges of interfering with human remains, although one charge was dropped at sentencing. She was sentenced to two years and three months in jail.

Bakulich had failed to provide metal liners for two coffins which were to be put in a mausoleum. The metal liners are important to seal in any body fluids and the relatives of the deceased were charged $3000 for them. The absence of the metal liners was discovered after Cyclone Gabrielle damaged the mausoleum and it needed a new roof. All the coffins had to be removed and checked.

The Tipenes thought they had done everything correctly by taking the initiative and informing the police, who declined to take the matter further. Later they dismissed Bakulich. But then the media began running stories.