Open Justice reporter - Wellington·NZ Herald·
28 Oct, 2026 01:00 AM7 mins to read
Barry Collins and (clockwise from top left) Marie Murphy, Gregory Mein and Glenn McAllister, who are on trial in the High Court at Wellington in relation to the fatal fire at Loafers Lodge. Photo / RNZ
- In May 2023, a fatal fire at Loafers Lodge in the Wellington suburb of Newtown killed five people.
- In December Esarona Lologa was convicted and sentenced on five counts of murder and one of arson for lighting the deadly blaze.
- Now company director Gregory Bruce Mein and property manager Marie Louise Murphy who, with residents Glenn Brendan McAllister and Barry Charles Collins, were responsible for the fire alarm, are on trial in the High Court at Wellington.
- Each faces five charges of manslaughter by omission to discharge their legal duty, or five alternative charges of manslaughter by unlawful acts.
A fire engineer who reviewed documents relating to Loafers Lodge said she was shocked and disturbed by what she had read.
The High Court has been told that gaps in the fire safety system at the Wellington lodge appeared when it opened in 2005, almost two decades
Source: New Zealand Herald · Catherine Hutton
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