20-year-old man charged with murder after Northland blaze

A 20-year-old Northland man will appear in Whangarei District Court this morning charged with murder and arson after a fatal house fire north of the city on Monday.

The man was arrested in South Auckland and returned to Northland, said Detective Senior Sergeant Marty Ruth of Whangarei police.

An autopsy on the body of a 22-year-old woman found in the Akerama Rd house determined she had died as a result of the fire.

The woman is understood to be originally from the Tauranga area, though police were releasing no other details last night.

About 30 investigators yesterday combed the site of the arson, and the size of the crime scene means they are likely to be there into next week.

Mr Ruth described the scene as a "double-storey house razed to about three feet".

Yesterday, police questioned family members as they gathered at the nearby Akerama Marae.

"They were just a nice whanau from around here," said one neighbour as he and a woman - understood to be a relative of the family - packed the car with supplies to take to the marae.

The woman said she was too upset to talk about the death or the fire.

Another relative, who was allowed to visit the scene to feed hungry stock, said family members knew little about what had happened, and what they did know they were struggling to comprehend.