this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
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Loafers Lodge fire: Three people charged with manslaughter following two-year police investigation (www.rnz.co.nz)
submitted 1 week ago by Dave@lemmy.nz to c/newzealand@lemmy.nz
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Three people have been charged with manslaughter in relation to the Loafers Lodge fire that killed five of the building's 92 residents.

The charges follow a two-year investigation by police into the state of the building, and whether the management and compliance of its fire safety systems contributed to the outcome.

A 50-year-old man, who has name suppression, was charged with murder and arson. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial in August.

On Thursday, Wellington police's area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Timothy Leitch said three other people had been charged with manslaughter in relation to the fire.

The people charged were involved with the management and operation of the building and police allege they were responsible for aspects of the building fire safety, Leitch said.

Those charged are two men aged 75 and 58, and a 70-year-old woman. They appeared in the Wellington District Court on Thursday facing five charges of Manslaughter.

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[–] liv@lemmy.nz 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The thing that gets me about this whole tragedy, is that in terms of international best practice we already knew this method of housing poor people is unusually prone to fires, for the exact same reason - firetrap + arson combo - as the fires we have had here in New Zealand in recent years.