Both victims of fatal Dunedin house fire named

Police have now named both the victims of the fatal house fire in Dunedin's Wesley St on Monday.

David Ian Clarke, 49, was named today as the second victim. Yesterday, police said Anastasia Margaret Neve, 35, was one of the victims.

The post mortems have now been completed and the police investigation continues.

Yesterday, police said the investigation into the two deaths and the house fire involves several different versions of events and "a fair bit of rumour and speculation".

Southern District Police investigations manager Detective Inspector Steve Wood said the fire in Wesley St was a "complex scene", and as a result, the post mortems were also complex and ongoing.

"It's just going to take a wee while to put this one together.''

The aftermath of house fire. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Detective Inspector Wood said police investigators had been hearing "a fair bit of rumour and speculation'' about what had happened in the lead-up to the fatal fire.

"We've got several reports of different versions of events that we obviously follow up, and we've got an inquiry team working away on all these different versions of events, but we're interested in dealing with the facts and what the scene and post mortems will tell us.

"We don't ignore any information that comes in ... and we're very interested to see where it's come from and trace it back to see if there is anything in it.''

The house was well ablaze when fire crews arrived shortly after 5.15am. Photo / Mel Ryall

The fire occurred in the back flat of the property early on Monday.

''Police are grateful for the information received from the public so far, and would still like to hear from anyone else who may have seen or heard something which could assist our investigation," Wood said.

Those with information can contact Dunedin police on 03 471 4800, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

- with Otago Daily Times