On September 26, 2025, the name Esarona David Lologa was finally revealed to the public as the man convicted of murdering five people by setting the catastrophic Loafers Lodge fire in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2023. The five-week trial, held at the High Court in Wellington, ended with a jury finding Lologa guilty of murder and arson, after less than three days of deliberations. His name, suppressed throughout the proceedings, was released following the verdict, shining a harsh spotlight on both his troubled history and the broader issues plaguing New Zealand’s boarding house system.
Lologa, now 50, was born in Wellington in 1975 but spent much of his childhood in a small village near Apia, Samoa, raised by his grandmother and uncle. He moved back to Wellington at age 13, living with family and attending high school in Lower Hutt. According to RNZ, Lologa’s early years were marked by a love of sport and music—he played the guitar and, by all accounts, was a respectful, quiet, and likeable child. But this changed dramatically after the death of his grandmother in 1993. As his adoptive sister, Failelei Lologa, testified, “Around about the time when our grandma passed away he was hardly at home, and he was always running away.”
By adulthood, Lologa’s life had become increasingly unstable. He drifted between Wellington and Auckland, living in social housing, boarding houses, and even his car or on the street. He worked sporadically and struggled to make ends meet, often scavenging for food and cigarette butts. His cousin, Solomona Seala, recounted losing touch with Lologa for years, only to find him unrecognizable when they reconnected in 2021. “We never spoke, he saw me but didn’t... acknowledge that I was there,” Seala told the court, describing the profound changes in Lologa’s demeanor.
Lologa’s mental health history is as complex as it is troubling. He first came to the attention of mental health services in 1999, at age 24, when he reported hearing voices in his head. Psychiatrist Dr Krishna Pillai explained that Lologa believed a friend was speaking ill of him, prompting him to assault the friend. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Lologa would be admitted to mental health facilities nine times over the next two decades. His criminal record is lengthy—50 convictions in total—including a 1996 attempted arson, a 2009 conviction for attempting to murder his partner’s teenage son with a machete, common assault, and fraud.
Despite his mental health challenges, the jury was unconvinced by his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Under New Zealand law, a successful insanity defense requires proof that the defendant was incapable of understanding that his actions were wrong. Lologa’s lawyers did not dispute that he set the fires, but argued his schizophrenia rendered him unable to appreciate the moral gravity of his actions. Prosecutors, however, contended that Lologa knew precisely what he was doing. They accepted his schizophrenia diagnosis but argued that he set the fatal blaze to seek a transfer to other accommodation, not because of his mental illness. According to The Guardian, Lologa had told others he disliked living at Loafers Lodge and wanted to move elsewhere, a claim his defense team disputed.
The events of that fateful night in May 2023 were chilling. Lologa first set a couch ablaze in a communal area late in the evening, prompting an evacuation. After residents managed to extinguish the fire, he returned and placed cushions and a blanket in a cupboard before setting them alight. He then left the building without raising the alarm or calling emergency services. The resulting inferno trapped tenants inside, with some making desperate calls to the fire department and others, in sheer panic, leaping from windows to escape. Five residents perished in the blaze.
The tragedy exposed the perilous conditions in which many of New Zealand’s most vulnerable citizens live. Loafers Lodge, a 92-bed hostel in the Newtown district near Wellington’s center, housed a mix of social services clients, older and disabled people, and nurses from a nearby hospital. During the trial, witnesses described the building as a “death trap,” according to New Zealand news outlets. The structure lacked fire sprinklers and working smoke detection systems. Officials later confirmed that building codes did not require older properties like Loafers Lodge to be retrofitted with sprinklers, a revelation that ignited public outrage and calls for reform.
Authorities responded by charging four people with manslaughter in June 2025, holding them responsible for the boarding house’s management and fire safety failures. These individuals, who have denied the charges, face trial at a future date. The Loafers Lodge fire triggered a flurry of reviews and inquiries into the safety of boarding houses nationwide. According to The Guardian, dozens of similar accommodations were found to be operating without adequate fire protection, and many lacked even basic smoke detection. Despite this, no legal changes have been enacted yet. One lawmaker is now seeking cross-party support for a bill that would establish a register for boarding houses and their owners and mandate recordkeeping, hoping to prevent future tragedies.
For Lologa, the consequences are clear. Murder in New Zealand carries a mandatory life sentence, with judges required to set a minimum term of at least 10 years before parole eligibility. Arson carries up to 14 years in prison. Lologa is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2025.
Throughout the trial, details of Lologa’s lifelong relationship with fire emerged. Psychiatrist Dr Justin Barry-Walsh recounted that from age seven, Lologa was tasked with making cooking fires in Samoa, and once accidentally burned down a shed. “When asked what he learned from this, Lologa said ‘fire is scary’,” Barry-Walsh testified. Yet, he also admitted to lighting fires for fun, using plastic bags, and burning rubbish—sometimes for special occasions like weddings and Christmas.
The Loafers Lodge fire, and the trial of Esarona David Lologa, have cast a harsh light on both the dangers facing society’s most vulnerable and the failings of the systems meant to protect them. As Wellington and the nation await sentencing and further legal proceedings, the tragedy stands as a stark reminder of the urgent need for reform—and the devastating cost of inaction.
