South Auckland shooting: Three men charged with murder of Favona grandmother Meliame Fisi’ihoi

Three people have been charged with the murder of South Auckland woman Meliame Fisi’ihoi.

Police confirmed the charges in a statement this morning.

Three men aged 19, 22 and 28 have been jointly charged with murder and are expected to appear in the Manukau District Court today.

Fisi’ihoi was watching TV in the sitting room when she got up to check a noise she heard outside her Favona home in January last year.

She was shot through a window near the front door about 2.45am. It is understood her killing was a case of mistaken identity.

“We hope the arrest today provides Mrs Fisi’ihoi’s family with some degree of comfort following what has been an extremely difficult time for them,” said Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Bright.

“We want to thank the Favona community for their co-operation during this investigation and hope they are also comforted by these developments.”

Police said their commitment to the investigation – which has been ongoing since the death in January last year – has “never wavered”.

“We were always confident that arrests would ultimately be made. However, some investigations are more complex and challenging than others and can take a significant amount of time and effort to resolve,” Bright said.

Fisi’ihoi, 57, would have celebrated her birthday in June and would have spent another year doting on her grandchildren – one born just a month after she was shot dead on Calthorp Close, in Favona, on January 15, 2020.

Bright also paid tribute to the hard work and dedication shown by officers who worked on the homicide investigation, which was dubbed Operation Truro.

Police released new CCTV footage and images in December of a car described as “a vehicle of interest” to the investigation.

Images of the blurred black BMW 320i sedan (2005-2009 model) captured minutes after the shooting were issued publicly in October.

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