Attributed to Detective Inspector Steve Wood, Southern Police District, Manager Investigations
It has been a week since emergency services were called to a fatal fire at 66B Wesley Street, South Dunedin.
A team of investigators and forensic experts have been working tirelessly to establish the circumstances that led to the death of David Ian Clarke and Anastasia Margaret Neve.
Police are now treating the deaths as a double homicide and evidence suggests that they died before the fire started.
The forensic pathologist has completed the post mortems and the bodies have been returned to the families. However, Police are not releasing the cause of death at this time as those details are significant to the investigation and public release could later comprise evidence.
A 46-year-old man will appear in Dunedin District Court today charged with arson, however, no one has been charged in relation to the deaths at this time.
Police continue to provide support and liaise with the families of both victims, who are understandably devastated by the tragic deaths. They have already been advised of the arrest.
This is a complex investigation, complicated by the fire damage. There is still a lot of forensic data to analyse and compare which will take several weeks.
We still have a long way to go in order to establish the exact details around what occurred, but a team of detectives are continuing to work tirelessly on this case.
Police are grateful for the information received from the public so far, and would still like to hear from anyone else who may have seen or heard something which could assist our investigation. In particular we are interested in hearing about any movements of people, vehicles and motorbikes, near the Wesley street scene in the early hours of Monday morning (22 January 2018).
People with any information can call Dunedin Police on 03 471 4800. Information may also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 111 555.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre