Man burns down former partner’s home ‘in a rage’
A man who burnt down a family home did so because he thought the woman living there was having an affair.
Hamish Andrew Kerry Ray, 38, appeared in the Nelson District Court from custody via audiovisual link on Monday and pleaded guilty to a charge of arson.
However, ahead of his sentencing he could face more serious charges.
The 92-year-old home on Aaron Creek Rd in Upper Tākaka burnt down in the early hours of Saturday, March 9. The house was built and owned by the Harwood family, and was valued at about $500,000.
“The whole sorry incident is a tragedy,” Dave Harwood told Stuff last week.
“It’s a disaster for the occupant, and our family feels sad at the loss of all the Upper Tākaka history associated with this house.”
The court summary of facts, provided to Stuff, said Ray and the victim had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for nine years, and had a son together.
On March 8, Ray messaged his former partner, accusing her of seeing other people, and demanding to see his child Worried, the woman and her children went to stay at a friend’s house.
In the early hours of March 9, Ray messaged his victim, sending a slew of abusive text messages.
In one, at 2.25am, he included an image of the house.
Minutes later, he sent another message: “U don’t HV a home thatl teach you skut [sic]” and then “U don’t hv any were go skur [sic]”.
By 3.26am, the home was ablaze. Ray told police he gained access to the home through an unsecured door.
He was in a rage and “thinking irrationally that [the victim] was not at the address because she was away having an affair”, the summary said. In fact, the victim had been advised by police to steer clear of the property because of an identified risk to her safety.
Ray told police he had pulled the woman’s mattress and bed base from the bedroom, taken both outside and set them alight.
He said he did not remember lighting a second fire inside the house but stated that he must have done so.
When fire investigators examined the scene, they found the victim’s belongings strewn around the property. They found the remains of a mattress in the garden, and evidence that a second fire had been started in the lounge.
The home and all the complainant's belongings were destroyed.
Ray will be sentenced on April 29.