Update – Stokes Valley arson investigation

Please attribute to Detective Inspector Haley Ryan, Wellington District Field Crime Manager:

The man critically injured in a fire that was deliberately lit at a Stokes Valley address during the early hours of Tuesday 5 November has died.

He was 82-year-old Ian David Moller, of Stokes Valley.

Hutt Valley Police pass on our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the wider Stokes Valley community, who knew him as a local fixture.

Police were called to a block of flats on Hanson Grove last Tuesday after an arson was reported at the building – the third arson at the address in the past month.

Mr Moller was pulled from the fire in a critical condition.

He has passed away in hospital late Sunday afternoon.

As a result of Mr Moller’s death, our investigation is now a homicide inquiry.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested and appeared before the courts in relation to the first arson on 10 October. 

Police would like to highlight that we are yet to establish if the arrested male has any connection to the two later arsons, on 14 October and 5 November.

We are still seeking the public’s assistance in helping us establish what has occurred, why it has occurred and identify those persons responsible for each. 

Police believe there is a strong possibility that there could be other people involved.

Our investigations team are committed to finding out the full circumstances of all three incidents and holding those responsible to account.

Mr Moller was an elderly man who deserved to live out his last years in a safe place, in the heart of the community he loved.

There will be people in our close Stokes Valley community who will know who lit these fires or hold vital information that could assist us. 

We are urging anyone who has information, no matter how small you think that piece of information might be, to come and speak with us.

Police would also like to reiterate our previous appeal asking for information about a vehicle and a cyclist seen in the area at the time of the November 5 fire.

To report information please update us online now or call 105.

Please use the reference number 241105/2249 and quote Operation SOVE.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers(link is external) on 0800 555 111.