Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to a house fire, allegedly started by the home owner, in Waitara, Taranaki, on July 21, 2021. Photo / NZME
Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to a house fire, allegedly started by the home owner, in Waitara, Taranaki, on July 21, 2021. Photo / NZME
As flames licked the walls around them, a man tried to drag his ex from their burning house - but she allegedly resisted, grabbing hold of a doorframe in an attempt to stay in the blaze.
"No no no, I want to die. I want us to die," she allegedly screamed at him.
The man began to tire as the fire around them took hold.
But he managed to climb over the 69-year-old woman, grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her away from the doorframe and towards the front door, despite her alleged attempts to resist by clutching on to anything within reach.
Once the pair were outside, she allegedly tried to run back into the burning Taranaki house, so he lay on top of her to pin her down.
The woman, who legally can't be named, allegedly retaliated by biting the man's stomach.
Today the woman appeared in the New Plymouth District Court after being charged with willfully setting fire to property or endangering life and injuring with the intent to injure.
On her behalf, defence lawyer Andrew Laurenson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The case will be heard at a judge-alone trial and Laurenson said the only issue to be defended was her state of mind at the time of the incident.
"The summary of facts is accepted," he said.
That summary outlines how the woman allegedly used the oven to ignite a piece of newspaper which she then took into her bedroom in the early hours of July 21, 2021.
Using the burning paper, she is alleged to have set her curtains alight and then climbed into bed and pulled the blankets over her head, she allegedly told police.
A woman appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Thursday in relation to the fire. Photo / Tara Shaskey
The fire at the Waitara property she purchased about 30 years previously was fully involved when firefighters arrived around 3.30am.
After owning the property for around 13 years, the woman entered into a relationship with the man and he moved in and invested money into the property.
When they later split up, they continued to live together but in separate bedrooms.
On the evening before the fire, the pair had dinner together and then the woman went to bed around 9pm.
The man watched television before he went to bed at midnight. At 3am, he was woken by an explosion and the sound of crackling fire.
He went to the hallway, where he was met by a wall of flames and smoke, before locating the woman.
