The 50-year-old man has been accused of murdering five people by starting the Loafers Lodge fire in May 2023. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The mental state of the Loafers Lodge murder-accused has been revealed in court by his family today.
The 50 year old, whose identity is suppressed, has denied murdering five people by setting the boarding hostel alight on 16 May 2023.
The Crown says the man knew lighting the fire was morally wrong, and that he knew people could die.
The defence intends to argue he was insane at the time.
At the High Court in Wellington on Monday, it was revealed the man had paranoid schizophrenia.
On Tuesday the man's sister, who cannot be identified, said growing up her brother was "respectful, quiet and likeable".
But that changed when their grandmother, who the defendant was close with and who brought them up, died when he was a teenager.
"He was hardly at home, he was always running away," she said.
She was also questioned about a visit the defendant paid her in the days before the fire.
He had come to ask for money, which she declined, but instead offered him food, she said.
She told the Crown he was acting normally, but the man's lawyer Steve Gill pressed her on that.
"On this day he came to see you at your house, on the 13th of May, you said to [defendant] that he might like to bring some flowers to your grandmother and his grandmother's grave, didn't you?," Gill said.
"Correct," she replied.
"But he didn't know who you were talking about, did he?"
"Correct," she said again, wiping tears from her eyes.
"He was no longer the [defendant] that you knew from the past, was he?" Gill said.
"Correct."
The woman also confirmed she knew the defendant had been staying at different mental health facilities.
The defendant acknowledged his sister as she left the courtroom, looking up and raising his eyebrows at her as she paused to give him a small, tearful wave.
The court later heard from the man's cousin, who lived in Auckland, and who also cannot be identified.
They had not seen each other for some time but they caught up briefly in 2002. They then did not see each other until 2021, when the witness found out the defendant was living in Auckland and the pair made contact, and stayed in touch.
He recalled the last phone conversation he had with the defendant after he moved to Wellington. It was on 17 May, the day after the fatal fire.
"He was just different from all the other times we spoke," he said.
"He wasn't that excited. We'd always have a laugh now and then, but he was... serious."
The court was read a transcript of that phone call, which was intercepted by the police as part of their investigation.
The pair discussed the weather, TV, family and work, and the defendant's cousin told him to download Facebook messenger to stay in touch with relatives in Australia.
Under cross-examination, the defendant's cousin admitted that when he saw the defendant in 2002 he noticed he had changed.
"We never spoke, he saw me but he didn't... acknowledge that I was there."
He admitted at one stage he saw the defendant, in Gill's words, "standing in front of the TV with arms wide out just staring".
"And that really freaked you out?" Gill asked.
"Yes... I thought that was weird," the man said.
"At the same time, I just didn't know what was happening to him because we haven't seen each other for a long time, so I didn't really jump to conclusions."
In court on Monday, a friend of the defendant detailed their interactions in the days prior to the fire.
He said the defendant called him on 5 May to say he was in Wellington, and wanted to visit.
In the following days they spent time together at each other's houses, and in the city.
During cross-examination, he denied that the defendant had told him about hearing voices in his head, or that he had an "injection" at the hospital - but he admitted the defendant had told him about taking pills.
"Do you recall him ringing you one time to say that he was in hospital in Auckland?" Gill asked.
"He said... a doctor keeps coming around to see him where he lives," the man said.
"Did he say that it was the mental health hospital?" Gill said.
"Yeah, I think he said something like that," the witness replied.
The jury continues to hear from witnesses who interacted with the defendant in the days before and after the fatal fire.
It is the second week of the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.
During the first week of the trial, Loafers Lodge residents told the court about escaping the building through thick black smoke and searing heat, and fearing they would die in the blaze.
Firefighters also recounted their experiences that evening, including rescuing residents and their own narrow escape of a spontaneous combustion that would likely have killed them.
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