New Zealand man convicted of murder for boarding house fire that killed five tenants

"A New Zealand jury has convicted a man of murder and arson for setting fire to a Wellington boarding house where he lived that killed five fellow tenants, in a case which provoked outrage about the dilapidated and often unregulated state of boarding houses, which mostly accommodate low-income people with few options. The jury at the high court in Wellington reached the verdicts against Esarona David Lologa after less than three days of deliberations, rejecting the defence of insanity argued by Lologa's lawyers."

"Prosecutors accepted Lologa had schizophrenia when he twice set fires inside the 92-bed Loafers Lodge hostel over one night in May 2023. They said he lit the fatal blaze not because of his mental illness but because he wanted to seek a transfer to other accommodation. Lologa's lawyers didn't deny that their client lit the fires, but they said he was not guilty by reason of insanity."

"Lologa first set a couch in a communal area ablaze late one evening, prompting an evacuation of the building. After residents put out the fire, he returned and placed cushions and a blanket in a cupboard before setting them alight. He left the building without raising the alarm or calling emergency services. During the trial, the court heard recordings of desperate phone calls to the fire department from people trapped inside"

A Wellington jury convicted Esarona David Lologa of murder and arson for setting two fires at the 92-bed Loafers Lodge hostel in May 2023 that killed five fellow tenants. Prosecutors accepted Lologa had schizophrenia but argued he started the fatal blaze to seek transfer to other accommodation rather than due to mental illness. Defence counsel argued not guilty by reason of insanity, which would require proof he was incapable of understanding his actions were wrong; the jury rejected that defence. Lologa ignited a communal couch, returned to set cushions and a blanket alight, and left without alerting emergency services. The case provoked outrage over dilapidated, often unregulated boarding houses housing low-income and vulnerable residents.

Read at www.theguardian.com