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DAVID BLANCO / THINGS
The scene after a house fire in Cockle Bay, Auckland.
Two men have been charged with murder after a man was killed in a house fire in East Auckland.
In October, a fire engulfed the Cockle Bay home, where Wiremu Arapo’s body was found, and a murder investigation was launched the following month.
On Wednesday, Detective Sergeant Craig Bolton said two 32-year-old men had been jointly charged with Arapo’s murder.
Both men are due to appear in Manukau District Court on Thursday and police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the killing.
READ MORE:
* Cockle Bay homicide: two men charged with murder in the death of Wiremu Arapo
* Police search for videos and photos of a house fire in East Auckland where a former soldier died
* The man who died in the Cockle Bay house fire in Auckland was Wiremu Arapo, 27.
* The man who died in a house fire in Auckland’s Cockle Bay was only two meters from the exit
“While charges have been filed, the police still want members of the public to send pictures before and during the fire on October 20,” Bolton said.
Michael Rowse
Approximately a dozen police officers and fire engines were at the scene of a fire in Minerva Tce, Cockle Bay, on October 20 (video first posted October 21, 2020).
People can submit any footage or photo to an online portal.
“I hope the news of the arrests brings some reassurance to the Cockle Bay community,” Bolton said.
At the time, a local fire service commander said Arapo was found near a door, but could not say whether the 27-year-old had been trying to escape or had returned to the home.
Neighbor Mike Rowse said he heard repeated small explosions when the fire broke out.
“It didn’t take long to lose control,” he said.
