Death of three children and father after Sanson fire being treated as murder-suicide

Warning: This story discusses suicide.

The deaths of the three children and their father after a fire are being investigated as a murder suicide, RNZ understands.

The three children killed in a Sanson house fire on Saturday, have been identified on a page set up by the loved ones of their mother as August, Hugo and Goldie, aged 7, 5 and 1.

The Givealittle page has since raised more than $158,000 for their mother as she dealt with the "unimaginable loss".

"They were the light and love of her life, and her entire world has been shattered," the Givealittle page said.

"In the midst of this unimaginable grief, she also lost her home and everything she owned. She is facing the hardest journey possible, stripped of her physical security, while navigating the deepest emotional pain."

Do you know more? Get in touch with sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

The creator of the Givealittle page posted a thank you to "what felt like the whole of Aotearoa" on Monday for the donations raised.

"No amount of money will ever be enough to heal the wounds left in her heart and soul, but to have this safety net to rebuild her life, knowing what feels like the whole of Aotearoa is with her, and how you have all contributed to this outpouring of love in so many ways is more than we could've ever hoped for."

The search for the body of one of the children is still ongoing, police said.

The bodies of two children were recovered on Sunday night and were blessed by the family with karakia.

The body of the adult was removed earlier. Manawatu Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham confirmed to Morning Report it was the children's father, which RNZ understood was Dean Field.

Police had put up emergency tape roping off the entrance to the property. Down the driveway was a police car, and a police branded truck was visible. A couple of flowers look to have been placed near the front of the driveway.

Police said their focus now would be on finding the third child's body.

"It's unimaginable, the tragedy for the families going through this," Grantham told Morning Report. "We are working very carefully through the scene to establish how it started, and that's still going to take us some time."

He said it was too early to tell yet if the fire was deliberately started.

"It's pretty risky with the part of the structure still there and the the dust that's generated from the fire, so it will take us some time just to go through and establish what's happened."

Grantham said police were not seeking information from the public at this stage, but if anyone knew anything, they could "reach out".

He said it was "unusual" for a house fire to begin in the afternoon.

Neighbour describes seeing the fire as it happened

A neighbour told RNZ he was working at his home on Saturday, when someone noticed smoke from the nearby property.

"We all came out to have a look and we saw a horrific amount of smoke coming from about 300 metres away, where the neighbour's house is - pretty thick black billowing smoke.

"It was a very, very windy day and we knew it wasn't any kind of controlled fire. We knew it was some sort of what we considered to be a house fire at that stage."

He said, over an hour, many firefighters turned up, attempting to put the blaze out.

An hour after it started, the blaze and billowing smoke was still visible. He believed it took two hours for firefighters to put the fire out.

"They were still dousing it down and there was just very slight wisps of smoke coming from the property two hours after it started."

He said State Highway One near the property did not open until 8pm Saturday.

The neighbour said that, during the fire, he was "pretty shocked" at what was happening before his eyes.

"Nothing we could do about it and just a feeling of kind of despair, I guess just watching what was going on.

"Knowing that a young family was potentially losing everything they owned and knowing that is going to be a very, very hard place to come back from.

"Just the thought of not knowing whether everybody was alright or not, and subsequent to that we found out, that isn't the case, which has made things 10 times worse."

'Terrible, terrible tragedy'

Bulls Museum Secretary Helen Cooper said the house fire was a "terrible, terrible tragedy" for the wider community.

She said the community was "very tight-knit" and with Sanson's proximity to Bulls, everyone was thinking of the family right now.

"We all will have seen these people or been involved with them in some form or another - it's just a terrible, terrible tragedy.

"As much as we'd like to all race in and sort of, be some assistance, you can't do that, you've got to let them have some space, and let them know the community is there for them if and when they need it."

Cooper said her son has been a member of the Bulls fire brigade for 23 years, and the incident would have a far-reaching effect on the brigade members.

"When they've know they've got an incident the adrenaline picks up, and on the way there they're not quite sure what they are going to be confronted with when they get there, and then of course once they're there and they see the scale of things, it just sort of goes a bit further and more man power is required, and it involves a lot of extra people.

"It's not an easy thing."

Manawatū District Councillor Alison Short said the fire was a "huge tragedy" for the community and said the family would need all of the community's love and support.

"It will be an unimaginable loss, especially for the children's mother. My heart goes out to them all. It will also be a huge shock for the Sanson community as they come to terms with the loss of so many, especially children."

"I know they will rally their support and care for those involved and each other."

Short said she had reached out to see if there was anything she could do to help over the following days and weeks supporting the family or community.

Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the fire.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said the organisation was supporting all the brigades who attended the traumatic incident.

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
• What's Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
• Healthline: 0800 611 116
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463
• Aoake te Rā bereaved by suicide service: or call 0800 000 053

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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