• A four-week coroner’s inquest is under way in Whangārei into the suspected suicides of six youths in 2018 and 2020.
• Hamuera Ellis-Erihe, 16, of Raumanga died in 2018. He loved dancing, rapping and singing.
• Summer Mills-Metcalf, 14, of Kaipara died in 2018. She was described as a happy, smiling girl who enjoyed pulling pranks on family members.
• Evidence is also being presented for teenagers Ataria Moeroa Heta, Martin Loeffen Romagnoli, James Patira Murray and Maaia Reremoana Marshall.

WARNING: This article discusses suicide and sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers.

When a family arrived at a remote Northland hospital with their daughter when she attempted an overdose and was self-harming there was no crisis team available and they were sent home and told to “keep an eye on her”.

The lack of services in remote emergency departments, along with the limited pool of counsellors available, has been highlighted in the second week of a Northland coronial inquest into six suspected youth suicides.

Coroner Tania Tetitaha is leading a four-week inquest in Whangārei into the deaths of five youths in 2018 and one in 2020, aged between 12 and 16.

Coroner Tetitaha said at the end of the inquest there will be a finding that these rangatahi died by suicide and is seeking solutions to impediments to access to prevention for suicide services in the North.

Last week, family members for Hamuera Ellis-Erihe, James Patira Murray, Summer Mills-Metcalf and Martin Loeffen Romagnoli gave evidence about circumstances leading up to the death of their children.

On Monday, Carmen and Pouaka ‘Boxer” Heta gave evidence about the death of their daughter Ataria Moeroa Heta in 2020.

The family had lived in the small village of Moerewa for 15 years next door to her grandparents and Ataria was “the baby of the family”.

She was a creative girl who gave everything a go, had a solid friend group and was once described as a standout performer at a local kapa haka competition.

“She was very likeable and quite charismatic. Really sociable and a go-to person for a lot of people. She had a really good nature,” her mother said at the coroner’s hearing.

‘We did what we could’

In the years leading up to her death, Ataria lost her grandfather who she was exceptionally close to.

She also experienced a distressing incident at a party but it was months until Ataria disclosed what happened. Her parents initiated action immediately.

“Once we knew what happened, we pushed to get her help, we put her in counselling and she was often brought home by a social worker.”

Her parents said she developed anxiety after the incident and would often have to face her alleged offender as he hung around the school.

“It was obviously distressing to her.

“In a small village, things spread like wildfire,” her mother said.

A sensitive claims application was filed with ACC and Ataria accessed counselling with a provider in Kerikeri however, she told her mother she found the counselling boring and at 16, disengaged herself from the service.

“We did what we could and played the hand that was dealt at the time.

“If we had the right clinician or professional help we may have been able to get what she needed.”

When Ataria presented at the emergency department with an overdose of pills, there was no mental health team available. Photo / NZME

In December 2019, Ataria was self-harming and attempted an overdose and was taken to the Bay of Islands Hospital emergency department where there was no crisis team available. A doctor told them to take her home and keep an eye on her.

“We just did as we were instructed.

“We need someone there 24/7. By the time we got to the hospital, there was no one there and we were waiting for a few hours, by then they’d had enough, they don’t feel valued,” her mother said.

Days later she was prescribed Escitalopram for depression and anxiety which she took until February before being switched to another antidepressant.

On February 29, 2020, Ataria performed kapa haka at a local event before visiting her grandmother who lived next door.

Her grandmother, Georgina said in a statement that Ataria walked in and Georgina asked her “What are you up to?”

“Nothing”, Ataria responded and walked out.

Ataria died later that evening.

Although Ataria left behind information that she had been sad for five years, Carmen said they were at a loss.

“We keep trying to find out what caused this but we might never know,” Carmen said.

Parents of Ataria Moeroa Heta, Summer Mills-Metcalf and Hamuera Ellis-Erihe have given evidence at the coroner's inquest.

‘She said she was okay ... they believed her’

Before Ataria’s death, the family had navigated the mental health system in Auckland and said the difference in services to the North was shocking.

“In Auckland, we could say what we liked, we had input ... the process was very different.

“Up here, it’s s***.”

A detailed record of services Ataria was engaged with was presented to the coroner’s court, but Carmen said the process was confusing at the time.

Pouaka said he was shocked to find ACC was sending letters to a 16-year-old regarding her discontinuation of counselling and believed it should have been addressed to the parents.

“I’m a bit puzzled why a letter is being sent to our daughter when it was a process initiated by us from the beginning,” he told the coroner’s court.

Carmen said her daughter was very good at telling people what they wanted to hear and believes whānau, including grandparents, should have input into a 16-year-old’s plan.

“Ataria said she was okay to the counsellors and they believed it.

“It’s about communication and everyone being on the same page as the child. The privacy issues with the counsellor, ACC sending letters to my daughter, it should be all collective I feel.”

Pouaka also told the inquest that financial support for families left behind was non-existent for those who earn above the threshold which placed extreme pressure on those who were grieving and unable to show up to work.

The hearing is expected to finish early November and will hear evidence from social workers, health and education officials.

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION

Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call 0800 000 053
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111

SEXUAL HARM

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email [email protected]
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.