Three men have been arrested after a man in his 80s was killed after his house was set on fire in Stokes Valley last year.
Ian David Moller was critically injured in a fire at a block of flats in Hanson Grove last November.
A homicide investigation was launched after the 82-year-old succumbed to his injuries several days later, on November 10.
It was the third alleged arson at the property in the past month, with two other incidents on Thursday, November 10, and Monday, November 14.
The trio — aged in their 20s and 30s — were arrested this morning after police carried out searches within the Hutt Valley area.
“Two of the men have been charged with murder, arson and conspiring to commit arson and the third male has been charged with arson and conspiring to commit arson,” Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said.
“All three men have also been charged with participating in a criminal group.”
The men were due to appear in the Hutt Valley District Court this afternoon.
Four others were arrested during the searches on unrelated matters.
“This has been a long and protracted enquiry, which has culminated in today’s arrests through the dedicated work of a team of detectives in the Hutt Valley and wider Wellington District,” Ryan said.
“I have spoken with the Moller family who were relieved to hear the news, in what is a further step forward in coming to terms with what happened.”
Police thanked the Stokes Valley community for support in the police investigation, she said.
Ryan said police “are confident there are further witnesses who may now feel comfortable coming forward and speaking with us and I would like to take this opportunity to urge them to do so”.
