Police Appeal For Information In Relation To Death Of Terri Fordham
Police are making a fresh appeal to the public for
information regarding two
separate fires in relation to
the death of Margaret “Terri” Fordham.
Terri, 75,
died following a fire that started at her residential
property on
Bridge Road Birchville, Upper Hutt shortly
before 2am on Thursday 12 August
2021.
Terri was
asleep in her upstairs bedroom with her dog Daisy when the
fire
started. She woke during the blaze and was able to
call for help.
Her neighbours attempted to
rescue her using a ladder but were unable to
reach
her.
“Terri’s last act was to throw her dog
Daisy to safety before she
succumbed to the smoke,”
Detective Sergeant Sam Mercer says.
Two nights later,
on 14 August, at about 3:30am, neighbours were again
woken
by a fire at the same address. This time the
upstairs area was fully-involved
and significant damage
was caused. No one was in the house at the time of
this
fire.
It’s important to note that during this time
last year, the country was
only days off from moving into
a Level 4 nationwide lockdown.
“As the anniversary
of Terri’s death approaches we are renewing our
appeal
to the public for information,” Detective Sergeant Mercer
says.
Police, along with specialist Fire
Investigators from Fire and Emergency NZ,
conducted a
scene examination and area canvass after each of the fires.
The
cause of the first fire is as yet undetermined,
however Police are treating
the second fire as
suspicious.
“We believe that a person or
persons have entered the burnt-out property in
the early
hours of that Saturday morning and deliberately set fire to
the
second storey.”
“We are following up
every possible line of inquiry to identify that
person,
but we need the help of the public who might hold
important
information.”
“That person
might have talked to a family member or friend about
the
fires, or displayed some behaviour which causes
concern.”
“This is a really tragic
situation in which a much-loved mother and friend
has
lost her life,” Detective Sergeant Mercer
says.
“We want help from the community to
find some answers for
Terri’s
family.”
Police are encouraging
anyone with information to contact them on 105, and
quote
the file number 210812/6583. If they wish to remain
anonymous they can
provide the information through Crime
Stoppers by contacting 0800 555 111.
A statement from Terri’s son Kester:
Terri was much loved by her family and friends.
She
can be summed up by her last act, which was to throw her
little dog Daisy
to safety, even though she couldn’t
save herself.
We haven’t had a chance to mourn her
properly, or move on and I still wake
up and realise that
it has actually happened, and it wasn’t a
dream.
Nothing is going to bring mum back, or fix it,
but finding out what happened
would help us understand
why, rather than just being left wondering, doubting
and
questioning
things.