Three men arrested over Lower Hutt fire that killed elderly man

Three men have been arrested in connection to the murder of a man in his 80s and the arson of his Stokes Valley home last year.

A homicide investigation was launched in November after one of three arsons at the Hanson Grove block of flats.

Ian David Moller, 82, was critically injured and died four days later.

It was the third attack on Hanson Grove in the space of a month. The first took place on 5 November, another on 10 November, and the third on 14 November, all during the early hours of the morning.

Charges against one person relating to the first blaze were dropped last month.

Detective Inspector Haley Ryan said on Wednesday morning police conducted multiple search warrants in Hutt Valley, targeting the three men, who are aged in their 20s and 30s.

Now, the three men have been charged with participating in a criminal group, arson and conspiring to commit arson, while two are also facing murder charges.

The men appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Four others were arrested during the course of the search warrants on unrelated matters.

Ryan said this had 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".

Moller's neice, Denise Harrison, previously told RNZ it had beenhard to find peace and move on while the person responsible was still out there.

"Had my uncle died at 82 of an illness or just old age, I could have reconciled that a lot more easily. But it did occur to me when I was speaking at his funeral that the circumstances of this were just not right."

Ryan said on Wednesday he had spoken to the family.

"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," Ryan said.

She said police were confident there are further witnesses who might now feel comfortable coming forward and speaking to them.

People could report information on 105 either online or over the phone, referencing file number 241105/2249 or quoting Operation SOVE.