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02:55 So, Superintendent Chad Gillies, I'm Commander of Tuggeraw Lakes Police District.
03:00 So thanks for coming today. So today is about calling for armed assistance.
03:05 On about 10.20am on Friday the 8th of September, 2023,
03:10 emergency services were called to a house fire at Clarence Street, Lake Marmora.
03:15 That house was well ablaze and through the efforts of Fire Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service,
03:20 they managed to extinguish that fire. Subsequent examinations
03:25 of the scene located, tragically located, a deceased female.
03:30 That person has since been identified as 84-year-old Robyn Hoff, who was the resident
03:35 of that house. Also located in the house were two dogs
03:40 believed to be owned by the family that were also deceased. Robyn lived in the house
03:45 with her grandson, who was also doubled as her primary carer.
03:50 Robyn had a number of health issues and suffered from a lack of mobility, which may have
03:55 contributed to her not being able to exit the house in time.
04:00 As a result of the fire, Tugger Lake's detectives under the auspices of Strike Force Metzler
04:05 commenced an investigation into the circumstances of the fire to prepare
04:10 a brief for the coroner. That investigation has continued in the months since the incident,
04:15 leading us to today. As we stand here today, I cannot rule out
04:20 that that fire has been deliberately lit and as such we have crimes seen that have
04:25 returned to the incident scene today and are re-excavating the
04:30 scene in an effort to further our investigations and shed some more light onto what's occurred.
04:35 So in that vein, I am seeking assistance from members of the public that may have any information
04:40 linked to this fire to come forward and contact either Crime Stoppers or detectives at
04:45 Wyong Police Station. That could include
04:50 people that may have been in and around Clarence Street, Lake Marmoora on the morning of
04:55 the 8th of September, 2023, that may have seen something, whether it be
05:00 unusual or just seen something that took their notice on the morning of the fire.
05:05 Further, if we subsequently ascertain that the fire was deliberately
05:10 lit, I would expect that somebody out in the community may know something to further
05:15 our investigation, either what's occurred or who was responsible.
05:20 So for anyone that does have information, Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
05:25 or Wyong Detectives.
05:30 That's about it in terms of that. I've got questions if you would
05:35 like questions on top of what's occurred. What is important though, as I said, the investigation is ongoing
05:40 and anyone that may have information, please contact us to further this investigation.
05:45 Any
05:50 share any details on whereabouts
05:55 and what property the fire may have started and what usually might have kicked it off?
06:00 I don't want to talk specifics about the actual examination of the crime scene to date and given that
06:05 we are also going back there today, I don't want to add public speculation around that.
06:10 Clearly we are still working through what happened on the initial crime
06:15 scene examination and we hope to have that further information after today's
06:20 examination. So I can't speculate publicly at this point in time in terms of the origin
06:25 or the cause of the fire. Police ruled out Robert's grandson as a personal interest?
06:30 We have no firm suspects at this point in time. We are working on a number of lines
06:35 in enquiry and as I said this is at the moment today purely a call for assistance for members of the public.
06:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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