The man accused of setting Wellington's Loafers Lodge on fire, had been refusing treatment for schizophrenia.
The man accused of setting Wellington's Loafers Lodge on fire, had been refusing treatment for schizophrenia.
4 September 2025
The trial of the 50-year-old continues in the High Court in Wellington today.
He's accused of the murders of five people and two counts of arson in May 2023.
A psychiatrist has told the court, the man had absconded from a hospital in Auckland just weeks prior to the fire.
The Herald's Melissa Nightingale says the man had been hospitalised nine times with paranoia.
She says he'd been showing signs of recovery, but when he absconded, he stopped taking his treatment.
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