KEY POINTS:
A 16-year-old girl was today charged with the murder of a mother-of-three who perished in a Pukekohe house fire last month.
A 18-year-old man was charged with manslaughter over the same incident.
The new charges were laid when the pair reappeared in Manukau District Court this morning.
They had previously been charged with the arson of the house in Wellington St, Pukekohe in which Lynette Margaret Chapman, 49, died on January 20.
The pair today entered no pleas and the girl was remanded in custody, while the young man was bailed to the home of his grandfather outside Auckland.
Both teenagers will reappear in the same court on March 13.
"We're pleased to make a decision so we can move forward on the case," Detective Inspector Mark Gutry told NZPA today.
Police earlier said the two accused were known to Ms Chapman who lived at the house with her three teenage sons aged from 13 to 20. She was estranged from her husband.
The boys were believed to have been staying with their father in Waiuku at the time of the fire.
The girl is understood to be a former friend of one of the boys.
Police said an autopsy confirmed Ms Chapman died in the fire but there was no evidence she was attacked before the blaze.
- NZPA
