The Tipene Funerals undertaker accused of scamming her grieving clients and mishandling their dead relatives has admitted her offending. 

Fiona Bakulich pleaded guilty to 14 charges in the Auckland District Court this morning, including interfering with human remains, and obtaining by deception sums between $500 and $1000 and over $1000. 

Bakulich’s brother, Māngere-Otahuhu Local Board chairman Nick Bakulich, himself once an undertaker, appeared in the public gallery supporting her. 

She was dressed entirely in black. 

Bakulich, who appeared on Tipene Funerals' reality television show The Casketeers, was accused of stuffing bodies into plastic rubbish bags instead of the coffins their bereaved families paid for and making them pay for Covid-19 tests for those bodies, despite industry experts telling the Herald there was no such thing. 

Some affected families found out about the alleged offending when Cyclone Gabrielle damaged the mausoleum in which bodies were interred at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland. Repairs forced the council to disinter the bodies, revealing a shocking and confronting sight for the families present. 

Fiona Bakulich allegedly swindled her clients by improperly interring their dead relatives in the public mausoleum at Waikumete Cemetery. Photos / Michael Craig / Facebook 

Tipene Funerals company director and reality television star Francis Tipene, who families believe is accountable for his employee’s alleged actions, told the Herald he had “no idea” of anyone else being involved. 

Last week, Tipene promised to address the scandal. 

Speaking on social media last Thursday, Tipene said: “There is an underlying issue that hasn’t been addressed yet and I know we all want to hear from us, and I assure you and let you know that my wife and I and our whānau here at Tipene Funerals will be addressing this issue in the days to come with an interview with Miriama Kamo.” 

An interview with Kamo addressing the funeral homes' legal issues is likely to air on Marae’s first show of the year on TVNZ on March 23, Stuff reported. 

“There we’ll lay it all out on the line for us all to hear so that the trust can be reinstalled back with the whānau here at Tipene Funerals,” Tipene said. 

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.