Jury Deliberates in New Zealand Boarding-House Arson Case That Killed Five

A jury began deliberations Wednesday in Wellington in the trial of a 50-year-old man charged with killing five residents by deliberately setting fire to a boarding house that was nearly full when the blaze swept through Loafers Lodge, a 92-bed hostel.

The defense acknowledged that the man lit the blaze but argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity. In New Zealand, a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity requires the jury to find the defendant was incapable of understanding that his actions were wrong when he started two fires in the multistorey boarding house. Prosecutors rejected the insanity defense, saying the defendant knew his actions were wrong. They accepted that the man has schizophrenia but said he lit the blaze because he did not like living at the boarding house and wanted to transfer to other accommodation. The defendant twice tried to set the building alight on the fatal night, the court heard, with the first blaze involving a couch and prompting an evacuation. After residents briefly contained the blaze, he returned and placed cushions and a blanket in a cupboard before setting them alight a second time. He left the building without raising the alarm or calling emergency services.

In a police interview played for the jury, the man denied setting the fires, despite officers telling him he had been captured on CCTV footage.

Several of the boarding house residents were social services clients or older, disabled, or otherwise vulnerable people, along with nurses who worked at a nearby hospital. The burned-out building remains standing in the Newtown district near central Wellington.

The blaze and its aftermath provoked widespread outrage over the state of boarding houses, many of which operate with limited safety measures. Officials said the residence had no fire sprinklers and that building codes at the time did not require sprinklers in older buildings that would need retrofitting. Dozens of similar boarding houses were later found to lack sprinklers and working smoke detection systems. The episode triggered reviews and inquiries, though no broad legal changes have been enacted. One lawmaker has sought cross-party support for a bill to establish a register for boarding houses and their owners and to mandate record-keeping.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence in New Zealand, with judges required to set a prison term of at least 10 years before an offender can apply for parole. Arson carries a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. Justice Peter Churchman outlined possible findings, including an alternative verdict of manslaughter, to jurors before they began deliberating.

Separately, authorities filed manslaughter charges in June against four other people who law enforcement said were responsible for the boarding house’s management and operation, including aspects of the fire safety system. They all deny the charges, and a trial date has not yet been set.