Police say they are treating a fire which killed two people and injured two others in Auckland’s Bucklands Beach as a double homicide after confirming it was “deliberately lit”.
Emergency services were called to the Murvale Dr property at around 2.30am on October 2.
Speaking in Auckland, Detective Inspector Counties Manukau Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua said the fire was “deliberately lit” and said the investigation was now being treated as a double homicide.
Va’aelua said post-mortem examinations had been completed, and more detailed analysis from these were ongoing.
He confirmed one victim as a 36-year-old father of two.
“We have not as yet been able to formally identify the second victim, however we believe he is the family’s 11-year-old son.”
“The two other victims who were hospitalised have now been discharged. A fifth person who was a boarder at the address did not suffer any injuries.”
Two others were injured following the blaze in Bucklands Beach. (Source: 1News)
Over the past six days, Va’aelua said the investigation team had been working “tirelessly” to determine what had occurred.
“We can confirm the presence of an accelerant at the scene,” he said.
He said information provided from fire investigators made police confident the accelerant was “foreign to the address”.
“The accelerant is subject to further forensic analysis and we’re talking about, without getting too far into it, what is the makeup of that accelerant, and you should understand from that it may dictate where we go from here.”
He said investigators were “casting the net wide as to who may be involved”.
Watch the full video of the police update here.
“We don’t have any person or persons of interest at the moment, as I said at the moment we’re casting the net far and wide to collect any evidence of CCTV that may assist us in that regard.”
The scene examination of the home was completed on Sunday, and remained under police guard.
Asked if the assumption was that a person or people had entered the house and deliberately lit a fire while the family were asleep, Va’aelua said it was “safe to say that”.
“I can say the mother of the children, the wife, exited the property through the doorway they use to enter and the boarder was based downstairs and the third survivor, the boy, had to force his way out of the house as (it) was well-engulfed by then.”
He said the police investigation had now moved into the CCTV and canvassing phase, and appealed specifically to those living in the area to come forward with any information that may help.
“We want to hear from anyone, please get in touch via the police 105 number, online or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.”
Va’aelua acknowledged the family “at the heart of this who are facing a life that’s been completely shattered”.
He said this was “an extremely traumatic time for them” and police were working with partner agencies to find the person, or people, responsible.
