KEY POINTS:
A rented Whangarei house in which a teenage girl was murdered last year was demolished yesterday after 11 unsuccessful attempts to burn it down.
The three-bedroom weatherboard house in Holmes Ave, Otangarei, was owned by a young woman and her brother who bought it in February last year as a rental investment.
The demolition has left them tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
The home had been left structurally unsound after repeated arson attempts following the murder of Mairina Dunn, 17, in the house on August 27.
Two more attempts to burn down the house were made at the weekend, adding to nine previous bids.
Yesterday morning, Maori elders blessed the unoccupied house and property before a contractor demolished the building and cleared the site.
A large number of people from the community were present, including Whangarei District councillor Sheryl Mai, who was relieved that the house was gone.
She said there had been an unpleasant series of events but was sure the community, Ms Dunn's family and the house owners would be "pleased to put a distressing chapter in their lives further behind them".
"The house was unsafe and needed to be demolished," Ms Mai said.
"It is to be hoped that the people of Otangarei can now move on and our thoughts are with them and the owners of the house."
The owners said that after receiving an insurance payment they were still $28,000 out of pocket.
Council spokeswoman Anne Midson said the council had obtained an order for the property's demolition after the series of arson attempts left it structurally unsound.
She said the owners had agreed to the order.
The council tried to get the job done at the lowest cost it could for the owners, who would have to pay.
Ms Midson thought the demolition work would cost about $2000.
Earlier, there had been demands from some in the community for the council to buy the house and turn it into a community facility.
Others said they would not set foot on the land, Ms Midson said.
Some Maori had called for the house to be destroyed by fire, claiming it was tapu after the death of Ms Dunn.
Ms Midson said Otangarei already had community facilities and the council decided to obtain the demolition order after the repeated arson attempts.
The house owners could not be contacted by the Herald yesterday, but they told the Northern Advocate newspaper late last year that because of the arson attacks, it was not possible to get insurance for the property.
They said neither Ms Dunn nor Nathan Fenton - the 31-year-old man convicted of her murder - had been tenants.
Detective Sergeant Rob Huys of the Whangarei CIB said one person had been arrested and charged after the attempted arsons - a woman who was later convicted and given a community work sentence.
Mr Huys said police had mixed feelings about the demolition.
"It's a sad case of affairs for the owners because they've lost money," he said.
"However, from a police point of view, it's taken an arson problem away and no one's going to be endangered there in future.
"It was always a worry that a fireman or a member of the public was going to be hurt."
Fenton was the subject of a major manhunt while on the run from police on Northland's east coast last September.
When he appeared in the High Court at Whangarei this year he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years for murdering Ms Dunn.
- additional reporting NZPA
