A New Zealand former cross-code sportsman +has been jailed for an "abhorrent" and "protracted" attack on his former partner who continues to carry a knife fragment in her skull.
Warning: This story contains details that may be distressing to some readers
Former Hawthorn VFL and Melbourne Storm rookie Shem Tatupu, 30, was sentenced to a minimum of nine years imprisonment in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday.
He had pleaded guilty to common assault, non-fatal strangulation and intentionally causing serious injury.
After his partner moved into the home he shared with his mother a month into their relationship in 2025, he began questioning why she was messaging friends.
He forbade her from speaking to anyone at the gym and demanded she give up her dental nurse job so she could act like a "traditional" woman.
Tatupu discouraged her from seeing family and friends before asking her for the "ultimate sacrifice" to give up social media, which she agreed to make him happy and prove her loyalty.
"Over time your conduct made her feel like she was being suffocated and that she was on a leash," Justice James Elliott said.
'Horrific and degrading' attack
Three months on, the woman could no longer tolerate his controlling behaviour, so she ended things.
Tatupu initially agreed to break up, but quickly changed his mind and subjected the victim to "horrific and degrading" attacks over nine hours on May 19, 2025.
He verbally abused and dragged her into the bedroom where he held her down on the bed, punched her in the head and strangled her until she couldn't breathe.
The woman had to pretend she was dead for him to stop.
"Not surprisingly, she feared for her life," Justice Elliott said.
He kept her captive in his bedroom and she was only able to escape after he launched another attack in front of his mother after he had given his partner permission to use the bathroom.
She was able to run outside, but he chased her down to a neighbour's garage and held an 18.5cm knife to her neck before stabbing her in the back of the head four times.
During the ordeal, he chillingly referred to a previous girlfriend, telling the victim: "I let her get away, but not you."
His partner sustained multiple skull fractures and the tip of the knife was permanently embedded within a fracture.
Tatupu's victim sat alongside her family and supporters in court, wiping away tears as the judge described her as strong and courageous.
Justice Elliott said his actions were serious examples of each offence and the protracted conduct was committed against a "vulnerable and isolated victim".
Tatupu looked straight ahead as he was handed a head sentence of 12 years and two months.
He spoke briefly to his supporters in court as he was led away.
The Kiwi national played 22 games with the Hawks VFL side before switching codes to join the Storm in 2016.
He is the son of New Zealand Warriors foundation player Tony Tatupu.
Tatupu has served 539 days in pre-sentence detention and could be released on parole as early as 2034.
He will likely be deported to New Zealand once his jail term ends.
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