Police revealed this week the extent of their investigation into Bakulichtells for Herald 10 bodies were involved.

They had received nine complaints about alleged mishandling of the bodies, said Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin, from Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch.

The families told Herald the bodies of their relatives were found bound with plastic tape and placed in plastic bags instead of the coffins they should have been in when flood damage at the public mausoleum at Waikumete Cemetery forced them to be euthanized after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Baldwin said police arrested a 48-year-old woman in Favona, South Auckland on October 22. Bakulich appeared in the Auckland District Court on October 25.

Police could not rule out further charges and Baldwin encouraged anyone “with ongoing concerns” to contact them online or by calling 105 and quoting file number 240808/8008.

Police began investigating fraud allegations against Bakulich after Tipene Funerals filed complaints in March and April this year. It remains unclear what complaints Tipene Funerals made against Bakulich, but police shelved that investigation because there was insufficient evidence.

In August, police began investigating fresh concerns about bodies at Waikumete Cemetery following an exclusive investigation by Herald where several families anonymously shared what they were confronted with when they were present for the demolitions.

Bereaved families, many of them prominent Samoans in Auckland, were confronted with the sight of their dead relatives who had allegedly been abused.

They told Herald they had sought Bakulich’s services specifically because she was Samoan and they expected to be treated with the utmost cultural competence.

“When the families opened the (outer) caskets, it was just a whole other level of grief. It was just crying and screaming,” said an affected relative Herald.

“How could you do this to our loved ones? You just packed them like trash.”

Other families told Herald they believed they had been scammed out of money by the undertaker.

Tipene Funeral director Francis Tipene has said the company encouraged anyone concerned about Bakulich’s behavior to report it to the police.

“Tipene Funerals have provided all information known to us to the police.”

He said his “former employee” worked for Tipene Funerals as a funeral director for seven years.

“And in doing so, a tremendous amount of trust was placed in her, both by Tipene Funerals, myself as the director and the families she cared for,” Tipene said.

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

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