Accused seen siphoning petrol before fire

By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE

A Papamoa security guard accused of killing his partner was seen siphoning petrol from his car into plastic bottles not long before their house went up in flames, according to evidence before the Tauranga District Court.

Mother-of-three Edwina Zelda Graham, 30, died in the fire last October and Edward Tapsell, 40, who is charged with murder and arson, suffered critical burns.

In court yesterday, when a not guilty plea was entered at the depositions hearing, Tapsell was visibly scarred and wearing pressure bandages.

His lawyer, Paul Mabey, conceded there was a prima facie case and community magistrate Kevin Hurley remanded Tapsell on bail until June 18, for a trial date to be set in the High Court at Rotorua.

Written evidence from six of the 34 witnesses has been suppressed pending a challenge by the defence.

Statements from other witnesses revealed that the couple, together for about eight years, had recently split.

The accused's sister, Laureen Tapsell, said that three days before the fire her brother had asked if he could stay because "Edwina and I are going to have a break".

He said Ms Graham had been withdrawing all his wages and "spending them on the gambling Machines", and that she had been lying to him.

Ms Tapsell said she was at the couple's Papamoa house on Saturday, October 19, when their children asked if they could go home with her. Her brother and Ms Graham were both in the garage.

About 7pm, the accused telephoned and said "it was all over between him and Edwina and that she had found someone else".

He had sounded calm, not upset or angry.

Ms Tapsell said her brother did not turn up at her place as expected and a detective arrived at 11pm to tell her what had happened.

Brian Moran, a neighbour across the road from the rented Gravatt Rd house, said he saw the accused that evening standing alongside his car parked on the front lawn.

He had a green hose and was trying to siphon petrol from the fuel tank into two big plastic soft-drink bottles, which he then carried to the front door before putting his car in the garage.

According to depositions, neighbours tried later to enter the burning house but were driven back by thick smoke. There was an explosion in the garage and another inside the house.

They found Tapsell lying near the front door, without a shirt and his skin "just hanging off". He begged for help and, when asked if anyone else was inside, said "my wife".

One neighbour found the bathroom window open about 30cm and heard a shower running.

Emergency personnel discovered Ms Graham's body lying in the hallway of the gutted house.

Forensic pathologist Martin Sage found no injuries apart from the effects of the fire.

Rian Morgan-Smith, from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, said the blaze had probably started in the lounge but it was possible a second fire began in the garage. An exact cause could not be determined.

Petrol was detected on a piece of partly burned cloth, with a zip, which was found on the bathroom floor. The colour and weave corresponded with that of Tapsell's shirt, the witness said. Other corresponding pieces of burned fabric were stuck to the shower entrance and the back of the shower cubicle.

Detective Logan Nicholas, of Tauranga, arrested Tapsell on February 3 after interviewing him in Waikato Hospital.