14 Dec 2023

Man pleads not guilty to arson in Dunedin District Court

1:56 pm on 14 December 2023
Dunedin High and District Court

Paul McCurdy appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Thursday morning. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The man accused of an arson which destroyed an empty Dunedin boarding house has pleaded not guilty.

Paul McCurdy, who court documents say lives at no fixed abode, appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Thursday morning.

A fire tore through the house in the central city suburb of Kensington in late October.

Emergency services were initially concerned people may have been in the house at the time.

McCurdy, who did not respond to questions from the judge or his lawyer, did not seek bail and has opted for trial by jury.

He will next appear in court in February.