Woman’s appeal dismissed

A woman jailed for burning down her home with the hope of getting a new state house has had an appeal against her sentence dismissed.

Tamara Dawn Stollery was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court to three years and six months in prison for the 2015 arson in Greymouth.

Stollery’s claim was that there had been a miscarriage of justice because she did not intend to obtain any benefit and the judge did not give the jury direction when they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

She also challenged her sentence on the basis the starting point was too high.

Stollery lived with her adult son in a Housing New Zealand-owned house in Greymouth. She asked the agency if she could move to Tauranga, but was told she would need to go on a waiting list.

The Court of Appeal decision says that on November 1, 2015, Stollery discussed burning down the house with a friend so she could get a transfer. In the early hours of the next morning, she set the house on fire before returning to her friend and telling her what she had done.

Housing New Zealand provided Stollery with emergency housing in Greymouth, paid for travel costs to Tauranga and provided emergency accommodation there for four weeks.

The agency sought reparation of almost $180,000.

At a trial in July 2018, her lawyer argued she did not obtain a benefit from the fire, but actually lost money because her belongings were inside.

Justice Thomas said the trial judge directed the jury properly in explaining the case. The judge was correct in asking the jury to continue deliberating until it reached a majority verdict after four hours and he was entitled to accept that decision after an ‘‘orthodox direction’’ on unanimity.

The judge used a starting point of three years and nine months’ imprisonment because the property damage was extensive.