Two men charged with murder following a fatal house fire in east Auckland are set to stand trial almost three years after they were formally accused of the crime.
Defendants Greg Hart and Sean Andrew Hayde deny murdering Wiremu Arapo, 27, who died following a fire at his home in Minerva Terrace, Cockle Bay, on October 20, 2020.
Following the blaze, Counties Manukau Police said after liaising with Fire and Emergency NZ investigators they were not treating the incident as suspicious and would refer Arapo’s death to the coroner.
About a month later, police announced a homicide investigation had been launched and asked people with relevant information or video footage of the fire to come forward.
Then, on December 8, 2020, acting detective senior sergeant Craig Bolton said police had arrested and charged two 32-year-old men with Arapo’s murder.
“At this stage police are not seeking any other persons in connection with this investigation,” Bolton said at the time.
“I hope the news of arrests brings some reassurance to the Cockle Bay community.”
The pair, Hart and Hayde, eventually appeared in the Auckland High Court where they pleaded not guilty.
Their trial was scheduled to begin on March 7 this year and was expected to take four weeks.
On March 4 a staff member at the Auckland High Court said the trial was not going ahead as scheduled.
It’s now set down to start on September 11, 2023, which will be almost three years after the pair were arrested and charged.
The court staffer says the postponement is related to the Covid-19 pandemic and concern that due to a large number of witnesses expected to be called to give evidence, the trial would have to be stopped midway if someone in the courtroom tested positive for Covid.
It’s a problem impacting courts across the country.
Ministry of Justice general manager of sector insights Anton Youngman says the justice system, including courts, is an essential service and remains open.
Court protocols are set by the judiciary, which outlined which court proceedings were a priority throughout each Covid-19 alert level and how different types of proceedings take place under the pandemic’s ‘traffic light settings’, he says.
“When only priority court proceedings could go ahead under the Covid alert level settings, many court hearings were adjourned or rescheduled.
“This led to significantly fewer court cases being resolved, which increased the active caseload.”
Youngman says 17,356 court events have been adjourned or rescheduled at the Manukau District Court, between August 18, 2021, and March 6 this year due to Covid, with 110 of those being jury trials.
A further 16,203 court events at the Auckland District Court have been adjourned or rescheduled due to Covid during the same time frame, of which 274 were jury trials.
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi recently announced the Government is progressing legislation to ensure courts can continue operating safely and effectively as Covid spreads.
He says the legislation will make changes that allow the judiciary and Ministry of Justice to provide people with an assurance of safety while maintaining access to the courts.
The Government aims to have the law change in place by mid-April.
