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A homicide inquiry has been launched after a man regarded as a “local fixture” died from injuries suffered in a fire at a Lower Hutt property.
Police today named 82-year-old Ian David Moller, of Stokes Valley, as the victim of last Tuesday’s fire. They say his death is now being treated as a homicide.
Moller was injured in the fire at a Hanson Grove block of flats in the early hours of November 5, the third arson reported at the address in weeks.
Police said he was pulled from the blaze in a critical condition and died in hospital late on Sunday afternoon.
A 21-year-old man had previously been arrested and appeared before the courts in relation to the first arson on October 10.
At this stage police were yet to establish if the arrested man had any connection to the two later arsons, on October 14 and November 5.
Ian David Moller, 82, of Stokes Valley died after a deliberate fire. Photo / Police
Wellington district field crime manager Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said Moller was a respected elderly man who deserved to live out his last years in a safe place in the heart of the community he loved.
“Hutt Valley police pass on our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the wider Stokes Valley community, who knew him as a local fixture.”
Ryan said police were still seeking the public’s assistance in helping establish what had occurred, why it had occurred and to identify those responsible for the fires.
“Police believe there is a strong possibility that there could be other people involved,” she said.
Police are also asking for more information about a vehicle and a cyclist seen in the area during the November 5 fire.
A silver or grey car was seen driving in the vicinity of Hanson Grove just before the fire on Tuesday, and a male was seen riding a bike barefoot around that time.
There have been three suspicious fires on Hanson Grove in Stokes Valley in one month. Photo / Google Maps
“We know [the car] has been speeding around the Stokes Valley area when the fire started,” Ryan said.
“There will be people in our close Stokes Valley community who will know who lit these fires or hold vital information that could assist us.
“Our investigations team are committed to finding out the full circumstances of all three incidents and holding those responsible to account.”
Ryan urged anyone with information, no matter how small they thought it was, to come forward to police.
