Wairarapa arsonist Maya Moore jailed for nine years after torching two homes

Joanna Thantu, ThePaper.co.nz

Maya Moore set the fires while the homeowners were asleep, and when the flames finally died down, two Wairarapa houses were destroyed, a third was badly damaged, and the loss topped $2.3 million.

This week, Judge Peter Hobbs sentenced the 50-year-old to nine years in jail, calling the arsons “planned, targeted, and extremely dangerous.”

Moore had been unravelling — losing her job, her accommodation, and the grazing land she leased from neighbouring farmers on Wards Line, rural Greytown. Within weeks, both properties went up in flames.

The fires were lit just before 4 am on October 11, 2022. One couple woke to a smoke alarm; dogs alerted the other.

One homeowner came so close to the blaze that his eyebrows were singed. Judge Hobbs told the Wellington District Court it was “only good fortune” that all four victims survived.

Fire crews found multiple ignition points, including around homes, a sleepout, and several outbuildings. The scale of the attack meant brigades from neighbouring districts had to be called in.

Moore had been in custody since her arrest the day after the fires. She later dismissed seven lawyers, refused to speak to probation for her sentencing report, and declined to engage with a psychiatrist.

She took no part in her own trial, spending most proceedings in a cell.

A jury eventually found her guilty of five counts of arson, one count of attempted arson, resisting police, and unlawful possession of both a firearm and ammunition.

In court on Monday, Moore appeared via video link from Arohata Prison. She turned her back to the camera, first standing, then sitting, then disappearing from view entirely. Judge Hobbs said her lack of previous convictions — in both New Zealand and the United States — was the only factor reducing her sentence from the starting point of 10 years.

The financial fallout remains severe. One couple suffered an uninsured loss of $700,000; the other around $80,000. Hobbs ruled it “unrealistic” to order reparation.

Moore must serve at least half of her nine-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.