Loafers Lodge fire

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Loafers Lodge fire
Loafer's Lodge, August 2021.jpg
Loafers Lodge in August 2021
Date16 May 2023 (2023-05-16)
VenueLoafers Lodge
Location Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand
Coordinates 41°18′24″S174°46′40″E / 41.30674°S 174.77773°E / -41.30674; 174.77773
TypeFire
Cause Arson
Deaths5
Non-fatal injuries20
Property damageFire damage, partial collapse of building
Arrests1
AccusedUndisclosed male, age 48

On 16 May 2023, a fire broke out at the 92-bed Loafers Lodge in Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand. Five people were killed, and twenty others injured. [1] On 18 May 2023, a man, whose identity is still suppressed, was arrested. [2] He was charged with arson and murder.

Contents

Background

The four-storey building was constructed in 1971 as an office and warehouse building called Mertex House. Since 2006, the building has been occupied by Loafers Lodge. [3]

The building previously served as a place of emergency residential housing contracted by the New Zealand Government. [4] A deportee advocate said the hostel was used by Prison Aid and Rehabilitation, and by the government to house deportees returned from Australia. [5]

The building's Warrant of Fitness (BWoF) was renewed in March 2023. BWoF records show the building had a "type 3" fire alarm system (automatic system with heat detectors and manual call points) supplemented by smoke detectors. [6] Fire sprinklers were not installed in the building, [7] nor were they required to be installed by the building code. A fire engineer was quoted as saying the rules were "too slack and need tightening". [8] [9]

Incident

A fire broke out on the top floor of the 92-room lodge around 12:25 am (NZST) on 16 May 2023. [7] Earlier in the night, a couch fire occurred about two hours before the later fire; it was not reported to authorities. [10] It was initially unclear how many people were in the hostel when the fire occurred, [11] however, 52 people were evacuated from the building and at least five were rescued from the roof by Fire and Emergency. [12] Five people died, 20 were injured, and many of the 99 people known to be living at the hostel were made homeless. [13]

A long-term resident of the hostel said that he had noticed the fire while heading back to his room from the bathroom, and that the smoke, crowds and darkness were disorienting before he was able to escape via a stairwell. Other residents said that, due to multiple false fire alarms throughout the past months, there were delays in responding and evacuating. [5]

Victims

The five deceased victims were identified as: Kenneth Barnard, 67; [14] Liam James Hockings, 50; [14] Peter Glenn O'Sullivan, 64; [15] Melvin Joseph Parun, 68; [15] and Mike Eric Wahrlich (known as Mike the Juggler), 67. [16] It was reported that Parun was the brother of tennis player Onny Parun. [15]

Murder investigation and trial

Homicide inquiry and arraignment

On 17 May 2023, police announced they were treating the fire as arson and had launched a homicide inquiry. [17] At the time, police would not say whether accelerants were used on the fire or why they believe it was deliberately lit. [18]

On 18 May 2023, a 48-year-old man was arrested and charged with two counts of arson. He was arraigned in the Wellington District Court on 19 May 2023, where he entered no plea and was remanded in custody until 19 June 2023. The man's name was suppressed until his next appearance. [2] [19] [20] On 1 June, he was charged with five counts of murder. [21]

On 23 June, Judge Christine Grice of the Wellington High Court granted the murder suspect name suppression until mid-August 2023. The suspect's trial was scheduled to take place in August 2024. [22] [23]

On 21 March 2024, the suspect's lawyer Louise Sziranyi confirmed that the defendant would plead not guilty to the murder charges on the grounds of insanity. [24]

First week

On 25 August 2025 the 50-year old defendant, who received interim name suppression, faced trial at the Wellington High Court on five charges of murder and two charges of arson. Justice Peter Churchman presided over the trial, which is expected to hear evidence from a 100 witnesses over a period of five weeks. Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop told the court that CCTV footage proved that the defendant started two fires, which led to the building's destruction and the death of the five victims. Bishop suggested that the defendant lit the fires since he did not want to live at Loafer Lodge. She told the jury that the law could consider a killing a murder even if the defendant did not intend to kill someone. [25] [26] The defendant's lawyer Louise Sziranyi said the defendant would be mounting an insanity defence during the trial. On the first day, the court heard evidence from Fire and Emergency senior station officer Clark Townsley, who led the first responders to the fire. He told the court that firefighters were forced to withdraw due to a "flashover" sweeping through the building. Once firefighters had dampened the fire, they discovered five or six bodies within the gutted building. [25]

On 26 August, other firefighters including Brady Cutting, Joshua Leceve, Martin Wilby and Mark Powell testified about their experiences on the night. [27] [28] Crown prosecutor Grant Burston also read testimony from Loafers lodge survivor Timothy Nevin. [29] On 27 August, the court heard testimony about the night of the fire from several Loafers Lodge survivors including Faamatala Sili, Glenn Cross, firefighters Brendon Wood and Justine Churchman. [30] [31] On 28 August, the jury watched CCTV evidence of several Loafers Lodge residents discovering the fire, along with a recording of a distraught resident making a 111 call. [32] [33] On 29 August, the court watched footage of the defendant, who has name suppression, setting fire to a couch. The Crown said that this was the first of two fires, with the second proving fatal. [34]

Second week

On 1 September, the court continued watching CCTV footage of the defendant moving around the building after his first attempt at starting the fire. The defendant was unable to enter his room and sought the help of another resident named Kenneth Barnard, who died during the fire. After failing to find a key to unlock his room, the defendant settled in a third room where he stuffed several cushions in a cupboard. CCTV footage did not catch the moment when he lit the second fire. Loafer Lodge survivor Robert Vercoe also testified about Barnard attempting to help and calm the defendant. [35] That same day, the court heard testimony from the defendant's Ministry of Social Development (MSD) case manager Mary Lualua, who testified the defendant was an Auckland resident who had relocated to Wellington since he felt unsafe at his Auckland accommodation. Since he had not sought alternative accommodation in Auckland and had arrived in Wellington with no plans to stay, Lualua had declined his application for emergency accommodation in accordance with MSD policy. During cross examination by the defence, Luala acknowledged that the defendant had paranoid schizophrenia. The court also heard testimony from other MSD case workers Pavan Alagiri and Herani King, and Te Wāhi Āwhina community space support worker Millie Lambess. The defendant had approached them for help in securing accommodation prior to settling at Loafers Lodge. [36]

On 2 September, the court heard testimony from the defendant's sister, who testified that her brother's life had spiraled out of control following the death of their grandmother, who had raised them. When cross-examined by defence lawyer Steve Gill, the sister agreed that the man was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia during their last meeting on 13 May 2023. The woman also acknowledged that the defendant had been residing at several mental health facilities. The court also heard testimony from the defendant's cousin about the defendant's mental health condition. [37] That same day, the court heard testimony from a pastor who had interacted with the defendant prior to and after the Loafers Lodge fire. The defendant had approached the pastor seeking help in securing accommodation. Following the fire, the defendant had called the pastor and told him he had escaped the fire. The pastor told the court that the defendant was calm and that his tone did not match the behaviour of someone who had survived a disaster. That same day, the court also heard evidence from Kahungunu Whānau Services staff member Cheyenne Allan, who had helped the defendant find alternative accommodation, groceries and clothing following the fire. She recalled that the defendant did not seemed concerned and gave monosyllabic answers. Another Kahungunu Whānau staff member Krystallyn Aramoana testified about the poor living conditions and state of the facilities at Loafers Lodge. [38]

On 3 September, Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop outlined the defendant's clinical history; the man had been in and out of both hospital and community care for the past 25 years. Both the Crown and defence agreed that the defendant suffered from paranoid schizophrenia but dispute whether he was insane when he committed the offending. Prior to moving to Wellington, the defendant had been admitted to an Auckland hospital between 22 March and 21 April 2023. The defendant had left the hospital after claiming that hospital staff were contaminating his food. [39] [40] That same day, the court heard expert evidence from forensic psychiatrist Dr Justin Barry-Walsh, who argued that the defence's insanity argument did not meet the "three-pronged test": the person has a "disease of the mind", and because of that they did not understand what they were doing, or know that it was morally wrong. [39] [40] That same day, Barry-Walsh testified that the defendant had claimed that he had heard voices inside his head telling him to burn down Loafers Lodge. The psychiatrist also told the court that the defendant had previously been convicted of attempted arson in 1996 and a serious violent offence in 2009. [41]

On 4 September, Barry-Walsh was cross-examined by defence lawyer Steve Gill about the defendant's schizophrenia. During the cross-examination, Barry-Walsh told the court that the defendant had responded well to treatment but that he still displayed symptoms while medicated. The psychiatrist also told the court that the defendant had stopped taking his oral medication in April 2023, a month before the Loafers Lodge fire. [42] Barry-Walsh also told the jury that he thought there was too much doubt for the defendant to reach the "moral wrongfulness" part of the test for insanity but cautioned that it was a matter for the jury to decide. Gill also questioned Barry-Walsh whether the defendant's decision to light a fire despite knowing there were security cameras and going to the toilet for four minutes proved insanity. Barry-Walsh responded that the defendant had given the middle finger to a camera and had been seen walking in a "robotic way" after the fire. [43] That same day, Justice Churchman discharged a jury member due to illness, reducing the number of jurors to 11. [43]

On 5 September, the court was shown highly-detailed CCTV footage of the defendant's movements between 10 and 12 May 2023, including footage of the defendant moving through the building, interacting with other residents, entering the building's lift, and entering and exiting the building. Detective sergeant Olivia Meares also told the court that the defendant was captured putting a knife into his jumper on 12 May, four days before the Loafers Lodge fire. [44]

Third week

On 8 September, the court was shown photos and drone footage taken in the days after the fire on 16 May 2023, which showed that parts of the mezzanine floor had collapsed onto the third floor below, debris and charred structural beams. Detective Sergeant Hayley Adams, the officer who had taken charge of the crime scene, told the court that first responders had found the kitchen and dining areas of Loafers Lodge completely consumed by flames. Adams testified about the safety concerns caused by the fire and structural damage during the scene examination and body recovery. First responders found the remains of Kenneth Barnard, Michael Wahrlich, Liam Hockings and Melvin Parun on the third floor and Peter O'Sullivan in debris after the floor he was on collapsed. The court also watched CCTV footage of the defendant lighting a fire on the building's third floor. During cross-examination, Detective Mitchell Murdoch said he was unsure whether the defendant was talking to himself. [45]

On 9 September, Justice Churchman dismissed one charge relating to the defendant setting a sofa alight on the night of 15 May, which occurred a few hours before the fatal blaze to Loafers Lodge was lit in the early hours of 16 May. [46] That same day, the jury heard an audio recording of a 111 call that Loafers Lodge resident Hockings made on the night of the fire. The jury also watched CCTV footage of Hockings and fellow residents O'Sullivan, Barnard, Wahrlich and Parun shutting their doors at different times during the night. Detective Murdoch told the court that Hockings was the only five fatalities who died after evacuating the building following the first fire. [47]

On 11 September, the court watched a police interview of the defendant following his arrest on 18 May 2023. During the interview, the defendant waived his right to a lawyer and told the police officer that he had gone for a walk at the time of the fire. The officer also presented the defendant with CCTV footage showing an individual lighting a fire beneath a couch at Loafers Lodge. Though the defendant wore the same attire at the time of the fire and the police interview, he denied setting the fire and refused to sign a confirmation of the accuracy of the officer's notes and photographs show during the interview. [48] On 12 September, the Crown rested its case against the defendant. [49]

Fourth week

On 15 September, defence lawyer Steve Gill opened the defence's case. He argued that the defendant was not playing the "insanity card" but was genuinely insane when he perpetrated the Loafers Lodge fire in May 2023. He reminded the jury of the defendant's lifelong history of schizophrenia including being hospitalised eight times between 2001 and 2023, and fleeing an Auckland mental health facility several weeks before the arson. Gill argued that CCTV footage of the defendant's movements at Loafers Lodge showed that his mental health had deteriorated to the extent that he could not differentiate between right and wrong. The defence's first witness, psychiatrist Dr Krishna Pillay, argued that the defendant was experiencing a serious psychotic relapse when he lit the first fire. Pillay explained that the defendant had experienced hallucinations which rendered him incapable of knowing that lighting the fire was morally wrong, a threshold required for the insanity defence. [50] That same day, Gill read a statement of agreed evidence, which stated that the defendant had been convicted of 50 offences including an attempted arson in 1996 and a "serious violent offence" in 2009. [51]

On 16 September, Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop questioned Dr Pillay about the defence's insanity defence evidence. Pillay was the only one of six psychiatrists examining the defendant who had concluded that the defendant was insane at the time of his offending. The defendant had initially denied committing the fire and insisted that he had not experienced hallucinations until August 2023. When Pillay interviewed the defendant in August 2023, the defendant had changed his story to say that he had heard voices commanding him to set the fire. Bishop questioned whether Pillay had considered the reliability of the defendant's testimony. Pillay defended his assessment methods but likened the defendant to an "unreliable historian" who liked to tell experts what they wanted to hear. He believed that the defendant would be come more "open" once he was in recovery mode. [52]

Manslaughter investigation and proceedings

Following a two-year investigation, Police charged three individuals with manslaughter in relation to the management and operation of Loafers Lodge in early June 2025. The accused are two men aged 75 and 58, and a woman aged 70. Police have alleged they were responsible for the building's fire safety. [53] On 9 June, a 72 year old man was charged with manslaughter in the Wellington District Court. [54] On 27 June, one of the female defendants was identified as Marie Louise Murphy, who was involved with the management and operation of the building. She and her three co-defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter at the Wellington High Court. [55]

Reactions

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called the fire an absolute tragedy. [56] He said that the government will investigate whether regulations for high density accommodation are fit for purpose. [57] [58]

Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson said the fire was absolutely devastating. [12] Wellington mayor Tory Whanau called the fire "one of the darkest days in the city". [59]

Aftermath

By 7 June, the Wellington City Mission had raised NZ$360,000 for residents who had lost possessions during the fire. However, only NZ$92,000 of this amount had been given out to displaced residents who received an initial payment of NZ$500, followed by a further payment of NZ$1,000. [60]

On 15 June, hundreds of people attended a remembrance ceremony at Wellington's Cathedral of St Paul for the victims. [61]

On 23 June, lawyers representing displaced residents filed an interim injunction to stop the owners from demolishing the structure in order to retrieve their belongings. Residents had previously been told that the building would be demolished and their possessions would be dumped due to the risk of toxic contamination. Under the injunction, residents will be allowed to conduct their own inspection to determine if their belongings could be retrieved. The owner would also have to take action to prevent further damage to the residents' belongings and would have to provide daily updates. [62]

By late March 2024, Community Law senior lawyer Oscar Upperton confirmed that recovery professionals had managed to return several salvageable possessions including family photos and memorabilia to displaced tenants. Due to water, fire damage and asbestos contamination, some items were irrecoverable. Upperton also confirmed that the tenants and landlord were working on minor issues related to the recovery process that was expected to be settled soon. [63]

References

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  63. ↑ "More recovered possessions returned to victims of Wellington's Loafers Lodge fire". Radio New Zealand . 26 March 2024. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
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