Stepdad stabbed with scissors after family tensions boil over

Friday, 19 June 2026

A young Hamilton man who was allegedly “trying to protect his mother” from his stepfather has been jailed for stabbing the older man with a pair of scissors.

In fact, Nephi Moses Matara, 21, stabbed his victim so hard with the scissors during the incident at the family home in Hamilton East on March 12, they broke apart.

At Matara’s sentencing in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday, the court heard that tensions had been high in the family for some time.

About 7pm that day the victim was sitting in the lounge when Matara approached, making accusations against him - which he punctuated with several punches to his stepdad’s torso.

The older man began punching back and the physical altercation continued for about five minutes.

During the brawl Matara got his hands on the pair of scissors, which was unnoticed by the older man.

It was a smaller pair, with blades eight centimetres long and black handles.

As the stepfather walked outside, Matara followed and stabbed him in the back with such force that it caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Matara kicked and punched the man a number of times, while continuing to yell and accuse the victim of wronging him.

The stepfather was stabbed in the chest and twice in the arms as he tried to defend himself.

The scissors broke apart, such was the ferocity of Matara’s actions. Another family member intervened, and convinced him to leave the house.

The victim, meanwhile, was unaware he had been stabbed and thought he had only been punched - until Matara’s mother saw blood on his body.

The police and an ambulance were called, and the stepfather was taken to Waikato Hospital with multiple puncture wounds, as well as numerous cuts, scratches and bruises.

Matara was later spotted nearby, arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - a charge to which he eventually pleaded guilty.

In court, Matara’s counsel Jessica Tarrant said he was “trying to protect his mother” from his stepdad. She urged Judge Thomas Ingram to note that the older man was now in custody himself on active charges - in which the mother was the alleged victim.

Tarrant asked for a starting point of between four-and-a-half to five years in jail, while Crown prosecutor Matthew Temm called for a six-year start.

Judge Ingram deemed Matara’s violence “not life-threatening but nonetheless serious” and opted for a five-year start .

He deducted 25% from that time in acknowledgement of Matara’s prompt guilty pleas, 10% for his mental health issues which would have contributed to the offending, and a further 10% for his youth and complete lack of prior convictions.

This totalled a 45% deduction from the starting point - above the current 40% cap on sentence deductions imposed by the Government.

In this case, exceeding the cap was warranted, the judge said.

“The situation had been building for some time. There was clearly some substance to the feelings of animosity towards [the stepfather].

“An injustice would be done if I did not give you a reduction about 40%.”

This led to an end sentence of two years and nine months in jail.

The judge also approved a request by the police for the destruction of the scissors - but noted that Matara had evidently done the job for them already.