By 3 News online staff
The site of a Christchurch house where a sexually-motivated double murder took place may be turned into a playground.
The local community board has recommended that the land be purchased by the city council as part of the Neighbourhood Parks programme, the New Zealand Herald reports.
Jason Somerville strangled his wife and his neighbour to death before sexually violating their bodies at the Aranui house in August 2009.
He buried his wife Rebecca and Natasha Lowry underneath the floorboards of their unit on the corner of Hampshire St and Wainoni Rd. The building became known in media reports as ‘the house of horrors’.
Somerville eventually admitted the murders to police and was sentenced in 2010 to at least 23 years in prison.
The unit where the murders took place and another attached to it were the target of arson attacks and were demolished. The site now stands vacant and overgrown.
Tim Baker of the Burwood Pegasus Community Board says it could be redeveloped and turned into a children’s playground, but he accepts there may be opposition to the plans given the history of the site.
Ms Somerville’s family have previously opposed any memorial being built on the site, fearing it would immortalise what they termed Somerville’s “legacy of horror”.
The section where the two units stood is a cross lease – with Liberty Finance owning the part where the Somervilles’ unit once stood, and Gisborne man Jason Drain owning the second part.
Mr Drain’s previous attempts to sell the land have failed, including a TradeMe listing that advertised his part of the site for $55,000.
Mr Baker will not say how much the council might pay for the land, but the council will consider the recommended purchase at a meeting on October 11.
3 News