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Home / New Zealand

Stalker suspect in Wairarapa arson

By Cherie Taylor
Wairarapa Times-Age·
10 Feb, 2014 06:22 AM3 mins to read

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GUTTED: An arsonist has destroyed a Matarawa Rd cottage, leaving the resident fearful for her life after a neighbouring home suffered the same fate less than three weeks ago. PHOTOS/LYNDA FERINGAWTA070214LFFIRE05

GUTTED: An arsonist has destroyed a Matarawa Rd cottage, leaving the resident fearful for her life after a neighbouring home suffered the same fate less than three weeks ago. PHOTOS/LYNDA FERINGAWTA070214LFFIRE05

The victim of a Waitangi Day arson claims she is being targeted by a stalker who may have torched a neighbouring house last month by mistake.

Her cottage, which was gutted in the blaze, is only a paddock away from another Matarawa Rd house fire nearly three weeks ago, which she believes was mistaken for her home.

Police say they can't rule out both Matarawa Rd fires being linked but say Thursday's fire was definitely arson. Everything in the house has been destroyed and the woman, who rented the cottage and worked locally, didn't have insurance cover.

So fearful after the arson and being "stalked" for weeks by the man she suspects is responsible, she doesn't wish to be identified as she is in hiding.

She told the Times-Age the man was an associate of a friend of hers and he had allegedly accosted her on the street in Carterton in recent weeks, threatening her and abusing her in public.

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He has also followed her on many occasions, which was how she suspects he knew where she lived. She believes he mistook one of three homes up the long rural and secluded driveway for her home on January 21, resulting in her neighbour's home being gutted by fire.

"I took it as a warning."

On Thursday, she said she had gone to work about 11am and was heading home about 2pm when she started receiving text messages from friends about the fire.

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She believes the culprit may have been in hiding waiting for her to leave. Fire fighters were on the scene at midday.

Complaints had been made to police about the previous incidences, she said.

"He only had a 45-minute window of opportunity. I knew straight away who had done it ... he's been stalking me, following me and verbally abusing me. I think he has just lost it."

She doesn't know why he had targeted her.

"What have I done for him to take everything I own? I've worked hard for everything we had and now we have nothing."

With police on the case, she hopes he will be arrested soon. The woman is being supported by Victim's Support staff and is in hiding in Wairarapa.

Detective Sergeant Glen Jackson, who is investigating both the earlier blaze and the Waitangi Day fire, which extensively damaged the woman's home, said the second fire was "definitely arson". It had been started in a back bedroom, with the property well alight when fire fighters arrived. While they had yet to find the culprit, the woman who lived in the destroyed farm cottage "had raised a few issues with [police], which they would be looking into", Mr Jackson said. "At the moment we are keeping an open mind. We are looking at a number of avenues of enquiry," he said.

He said it was too early to say if both fires were linked but the investigation would centre around both fires.

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