Loafers Lodge tragedy: Four in court on manslaughter charges

Four people appeared in the High Court in Wellington today on charges of manslaughter relating to the fatal Loafers Lodge fire.

Name suppression was lifted for Gregory Mein, but remains in place for the three other accused.

An argument for their case for continued name suppression will be heard next Friday. All four have been remanded on bail.

Mein entered a plea of not guilty on all charges, and one other, a 58-year-old man also entered a not guilty plea. No trial date has been set.

The other two - a 75-year-old and 70-year-old woman - are yet to enter pleas.

The four were seated in the dock. The judge acknowledged families and friends of those who died in the fire.

Five men died in the blaze in May 2023 - Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O'Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings.

The charges came after an investigation into whether the state of the building and the management and compliance of its fire safety systems contributed to the fatal outcome.

A 50-year-old man had previously been charged with murder in relation to deliberately lighting the fire. A trial is scheduled to start on August 25.

- By Demelza Leslie