Curtis family to tell Glassies of their shame

The family of tortured and murdered toddler Nia Glassie are to visit her killers' marae, where the extended Curtis family will express their sorrow and shame.

Family kaumatua Toby Curtis said the relatives of brothers Wiremu and Michael Curtis, convicted of murder by a Rotorua High Court jury this week, would host the Glassie family at their Lake Rotoiti marae after Christmas.

"Everyone's going through pain but in our case, it's also one of deep shame," Mr Curtis told The Dominion Post.

The brothers killed Nia with kicks to the head at the home they shared in Rotorua.

In the last weeks of her life, the three-year-old was slammed on the floor in wrestling moves, swung on a clothesline, dangled above a lit fire, forced into a clothes drier, and had her head smashed against the corner of a door. Nia died from bleeding between the brain and skull on August 3, 2007.

Five people were found guilty of charges relating to her death. Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter.

Two others were found guilty of child cruelty charges.

William Curtis, the father of the murderers, faces his own trial over child abuse allegations relating to Nia.

Toby Curtis said his family would tell the Glassies how sorry they were and offer to team up with Nia's grandparents and father Glassie Glassie Jr to "see what we can do".