The whānau of Tommy Murray, who took his body from his Lower Hutt home and buried him in Northland against the wishes of his wife, have spoken out about the ordeal for the first time.
The situation has left his grieving widow Sara traumatised and her home damaged.
"I think that if I was in that situation, and felt really strongly especially about the tāmoko, I would be ashamed for the rest of my life if I hadn't done something to stop him from being cremated," said whānau spokesperson Hilda Halkyard-Harawira.
It would not have been appropriate, given Tommy Murray wore a full-face tāmoko known as a mataora, a physical expression of his identity, she said.
"Our whānau from the Far North, they were quite happy to just tautoko whatever the outcome was, and then they realised that oh, we don't feel good that our cousin, our brother, with his mataora, is going to be cremated.
"The kōrero was going absolutely nowhere and they decided amongst themselves to bring him home."
But Tommy's best friend, who was by his side when he died suddenly, is appalled at the way it was handled.
"I picked his body up off the gym floor, I put his body in the body bag, I put the body into the coffin, with respect. On that footage, I didn't see any respect whatsoever," he said.
"It was heart-breaking for me."
He said he spoke with Tommy's mother and sister following his death, and now felt betrayed.
"They had assured us they were not coming to steal the body, because we had heard rumours".
His whānau took the body to be buried in Northland with his ancestors. (Source: 1News)
Tommy has been buried at Rangitoto Urupā.
His whānau say they acted out of love and believe he will be better looked after on ancestral land.
"Young partners will remarry within due-course, probably within two years, and who will then look after him? So it's safer to bring him home where we will always know where he'll be," Halkyard-Harawira said.
READ MORE: Lower Hutt widow distraught as husband's body forcibly taken from home
Te Rarawa Chairman Haami Piripi agreed.
"I think this instance shows us that in life we have to be very careful about who we choose to be our partners and understand the ramifications of that choice.
"Our people cant just marry someone from outside and not prepare them for this, its the sort of thing that we live and breathe everyday and as iwi members we should expect this kind of highly charged reaction."
Its not clear if a complaint has been made to police, who have told 1News they don't intend to take the matter further at this stage.
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