Angry reaction to Frederick King’s sentence for lighting fatal South Taranaki fire 20 years ago

Frederick King has been sentenced in the High Court at New Plymouth for the manslaughter of Michael Paul Slade.

The memory of a distressed mother crying out “please, God, not my son” as she lay on the floor, clutching her chest, continues to haunt a grieving family.

It has been 20 years since Michael Paul Slade died in a house bus fire, but his younger sister, Nikita Burnard, still recalls the day vividly.

Burnard had returned to their family home at 1.30am to find blue and red lights in their driveway and police at their door.

They were there to tell the family that Slade, a 27-year-old labourer who had been living in a house bus in Manaia, South Taranaki, was dead.

She walked inside and was met by her mother’s cries.

“Please, God, not my son,” she yelled while lying “in a heap on the floor”.

Today, Burnard’s emotional recollection was heard in the High Court at New Plymouth when she read her victim impact statement at the manslaughter sentencing for Frederick Matene King.

While Slade died in 2005, it only recently came to the court’s attention that King, of Manaia, lit the fire.

A police and fire safety investigation at the time found there was no foul play, and the blaze probably started with a smouldering cigarette.

But King, now 38, has claimed, and the court accepts, that he went to the Hāwera police station not long after the fire and admitted to starting it, and nothing came of it.

Then, in January last year, police were contacted by a social service after King told his social worker he was responsible for the fire.

King was interviewed by police and confessed, then was charged with manslaughter, to which he pleaded guilty.

Justice Jason McHerron exercised his discretion to sentence Frederick King to home detention.

Detective Sergeant Nicky Spicer previously told NZME that the police investigation was reopened after King’s recent admission.

“Mr King was spoken to as part of this, resulting in his arrest,” Spicer, the officer in charge of the case, said.

“Although Mr King has acknowledged that he tried to speak with police about this in the years following the arson, police have been unable to find a record of this.”

The court heard that before King’s recent confession, he had also told multiple people about the fire and information had also been phoned in as a tip to Crimewatch.

A family shattered

At King’s sentencing, some of the victim impact statements spoke of how the family had always suspected Slade had been killed.

They also spoke about how his death had scarred their family with pain, anxiety and grief, as well as anger.

King had gone on to live his life while Slade’s was tragically and unjustifiably ended so young, they said.

Slade was described as the glue that held the family together, and a “happy, likeable rogue” who loved cars and was a proud father.

His mother, Paula Slade, said her heart was broken the night her son died, and her life has never been the same since.

Michael Paul Slade died in a house bus fire in Manaia, South Taranaki, in 2005.

Slade’s daughter told the court she was only 5 when her father died and all she has now are three photos and a handful of letters that express his love for her.

She had been robbed of a relationship with him and of the milestones they would share.

“I will never forget or forgive the man who did this.”

‘Get that fulla back’

According to the Crown summary of facts, King and Slade were not known to each other.

On August 19, 2005, King was drinking at his friend’s house party in Manaia. The party was at the front of the address, visible to the road.

About 9pm, Slade drove down the street and performed burnouts on the grass in front of the property.

This agitated King, who approached Slade’s car and punched him several times through the open driver’s window.

Slade drove off and King returned to the party.

Frederick King was sentenced in the High Court at New Plymouth on Wednesday. Photo / Tara Shaskey

Later in the evening, King, then 19, went to a local pub and was asked by an associate if he wanted to “get that fulla back”, referring to Slade.

The associate knew where Slade lived.

King and three friends walked to Slade’s property where King went inside the house bus to assault him.

But when he saw Slade was asleep, King changed his mind and turned to leave.

As he walked out, he used his lighter to ignite a piece of paper covering one of the windows in the bus.

King saw the paper was alight before returning to the pub with his friends to continue drinking.

‘Why did I do that?’

At the sentencing, Crown prosecutor Rebekah Hicklin submitted that a starting point of 13 years’ imprisonment was appropriate, with an end sentence of about five years.

She said the offending was a “particularly serious manslaughter” for factors including that King had assaulted Slade earlier in the day, had gone into his home with the intent to harm him, Slade was asleep and vulnerable, and King lit the fire and left Slade asleep next to it.

“Mr King took no steps to assist the victim despite the extremely serious situation he created.”

Hicklin accepted King’s self-reporting to the authorities and the remorse this demonstrated, as well as his youth at the time of the offending, his guilty plea and his dependent child as mitigating factors.

Defence lawyer Nathan Bourke acknowledged the offending was a “reckless and stupid” act, but submitted that what was relevant was what King was thinking at the time.

He submitted King did not intend any harm, beyond annoyance, and he has struggled with the outcome for 20 years.

Defence lawyer Nathan Bourke sought a sentence of home detention. Photo / Supplied

“Why did I do that?” Bourke said, citing the question King often asks himself.

Bourke referenced an expert report which assessed King’s actions as having no malice and being impulsive while highly intoxicated.

“It was a drunk, young teenager who wasn’t thinking at all,” Bourke said.

He said King’s case was an extraordinary case of self-reporting and without his confession, it would not have made it to court, which the Crown accepted.

Bourke said King has a background of significant mental health issues, and submitted his extreme remorse has in part amplified those issues.

He submitted that an end sentence of 12 months of home detention and judicial monitoring was appropriate.

Justice Jason McHerron took a starting point of 6.5 years’ imprisonment.

While King had a moderate criminal history, he was particularly concerned about offending last year, for which King was currently serving a 12-month sentence of supervision.

Referring to this, the judge said, despite King’s remorse for the 2005 fire and knowing the damage fires can cause, he had tried to light another fire.

Justice McHerron uplifted the starting point by six months to reflect that offending.

He gave reductions for King’s guilty plea, youth at the time, mental health, confession and remorse.

Justice McHerron then landed on an end sentence of two years and nine months, outside of the eligibility for a home detention sentence to be considered.

But he had the discretion to still impose home detention if a prison sentence was found to be disproportionately severe to the offender.

Justice McHerron ruled it was, given King’s epilepsy, mental health challenges and that he was his child’s primary caregiver.

He imposed 12 months of home detention with judicial monitoring, leading to outcries from Slade’s family, who walked out of the courtroom before the judge had finished delivering the sentence.

“That’s b*******, Your Honour,” one person said, while several others swore at King.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 and is currently an assistant editor and reporter for the Open Justice team. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.