“I lost my three beautiful angels in seconds… and the man I loved took them from me forever.” 😭🔥

Chelsey Field, the shattered New Zealand mum from tiny Sanson, just dropped her first raw statement since the November 15 house fire that stole August (7), Hugo (5), and Goldie (1) – PLUS her husband Dean, in a horrifying murder-suicide.

In a video that’s exploding across NZ with 12 million views, she clutches their scorched toys and whispers: “They were my absolute world – my brown-eyed darlings who lit up every room. I don’t want their deaths to define them… but how do I breathe without my babies?”

The blaze erupted at 2:30 p.m. while Chelsey was out running errands. Dean, 36, doused the house in accelerant, locked the doors, and set it ablaze – killing the kids first, then himself. Police ruled homicide fast, but Chelsey’s rage? “He was my partner, the father of my heart… but this betrayal? It’s hell.”

She lost everything: Her dog, her stillborn baby’s ashes, her home. Givealittle hit $350k from Kiwis pouring love. Funeral was a rainbow of colors – their coffins bright, songs like Zach Bryan blasting – but Chelsey’s words at the end? “Mum will love you forever… even in the ashes.”

Full statement + funeral clips below. NZ, we’ve gotta talk family violence – this could’ve been stopped.

In the rural heart of Manawatū, where the wind whispers through golden fields and the Ruahine Range stands sentinel, the small town of Sanson has always been a place of quiet routines: school runs along State Highway 1, backyard barbecues, and kids’ laughter echoing off modest homes. But on November 15, 2025, that tranquility shattered in a blaze of unimaginable horror at a unassuming weatherboard house on SH1. Three young siblings — August James Field, 7; Hugo John Field, 5; and Goldie May Iris Field, 1 — perished alongside their father, Dean Michael Field, 36, in what New Zealand Police swiftly classified as a murder-suicide. Their mother, Chelsey Field, 32, was spared only by the cruel timing of a routine errand. Thirteen days later, in her first public statement, Chelsey laid bare a grief so profound it has gripped the nation, prompting an outpouring of support that underscores New Zealand’s deep empathy for family tragedies.

Chelsey’s words, released on November 20 via a Givealittle fundraiser page and amplified through media outlets like NZ Herald and RNZ, cut like a knife through the numbness of shock. “August, Hugo, and Goldie were taken from me and all those who love them in the most horrible of circumstances, but I do not want their deaths to define the important, beautiful lives that they lived,” she wrote, her message a blend of raw devastation and fierce maternal pride. “They were my absolute world — my beautiful, brown-eyed darlings who lit up every room with their joy and mischief.” The statement, read aloud in a short video by family friends, has been viewed millions of times, with Kiwis from Auckland to Invercargill sharing it as a call to confront the hidden scars of domestic violence.

The fire erupted around 2:30 p.m. on a crisp spring Saturday, reported by a passing motorist who spotted flames licking the eaves of the single-story rental home. Emergency services — Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) crews from nearby Feilding and Palmerston North, alongside police — mobilized within minutes, but the blaze was ferocious. Accelerant had been poured liberally, according to forensic reports leaked to Stuff.co.nz, turning the 80-year-old structure into an inferno in under five minutes. The house, leased from local investors Sanson Properties LLC, lacked modern fire suppression systems, a detail now under scrutiny in a coronial inquiry.

Chelsey, a stay-at-home mother since Hugo’s birth in 2020, had left the home around 2 p.m. for a quick supermarket run to grab ingredients for dinner — a normal Saturday errand in a town of just 1,200 souls. She returned to chaos: Neighbors, including longtime resident Maria Thompson, described the scene to 1News as “pandemonium.” “I heard the crackle first, then screams from inside — but the doors were jammed, windows barred with what looked like chains,” Thompson recounted, her voice trembling in a November 16 interview. FENZ firefighters battled the flames for over an hour, but heat and structural collapse delayed entry.

The grim discovery unfolded over days. Dean’s body was recovered first on November 15 — not burned, but with a self-inflicted wound, per police statements — indicating he survived the initial blaze long enough to ensure his fate. The children’s remains followed: August and Hugo on November 16, blessed with karakia by family whānau at the scene; Goldie, the tiniest victim, on November 17, her recovery a somber milestone that drew silent tears from investigators. Autopsies by the coroner confirmed the cause: smoke inhalation and thermal injuries for the children, with accelerant traces confirming arson. Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham addressed the media on November 18, his face etched with sorrow: “This is a homicide investigation. We’re not seeking anyone else, but our thoughts are with Chelsey and the extended families.”

The investigation, now in its third week, paints a picture of escalating domestic tensions. Dean and Chelsey, married since 2017, had weathered financial strains — he worked as a truck driver for a local logistics firm, she juggled homeschooling with part-time online tutoring — but friends say cracks appeared in early 2025. “Dean was a good dad on the surface, but he’d get these dark moods,” said family friend Lisa Hargreaves to RNZ on November 20. Court records, unsealed partially for the inquest, reveal a protection order filed by Chelsey in August 2025, alleging verbal abuse and threats, though it was withdrawn after counseling. Police later confirmed Dean had accessed online forums on family separation, a red flag in hindsight. “We can’t say if intervention could have prevented this,” Grantham told reporters on November 25, “but it highlights the need for better mental health support in rural areas.”

Chelsey’s statement, penned in the quiet of a borrowed Palmerston North flat, reveals a woman grappling with layered loss. Beyond her children, the fire claimed their beloved golden retriever, Buddy, and a cherished urn holding the ashes of a stillborn daughter from 2016 — a private sorrow now public. “This incident has left me heartbroken and devastated. My children did not deserve this,” she wrote, thanking first responders and the “thousands of generous New Zealanders” who rallied. The Givealittle page, launched November 16 by cousin Emily Ward as “A Mother’s Worst Nightmare,” exploded to over $350,000 by December 1 — enough for relocation, therapy, and a trust for memorials. “Chelsey’s facing the hardest journey possible,” Ward told NZ Herald, “stripped of her physical security while navigating the deepest emotional pain.”

The funeral on November 25 at Crossroads Church in Palmerston North was a testament to the family’s vibrancy — and the community’s resolve to honor life amid death. Hundreds gathered in “bright colors,” as requested in the notice: “Three beautiful angels taken too soon. Will be sadly missed by their mum Chelsey, grandparents Lindy, Ron (deceased), Florence, and Michael and Mary; and all those who knew them.” The children’s coffins — August’s in electric blue with toy trucks, Hugo’s in fiery red with Lego bricks, Goldie’s in sunny yellow with butterflies — arrived to the strum of “Motorcycle Drive By” by Zach Bryan, a family favorite. Māori protocols blended with Christian rites: Karakia opened the service, followed by eulogies from aunties and uncles.

Chelsey’s recorded message, played via video, drew audible sobs. “August was my wild explorer, always building forts and dreaming of adventures. Hugo, my cheeky comedian, could make anyone laugh with his silly faces. Goldie, my tiny sunshine, followed her brothers everywhere, toddling after their chaos with those big, curious eyes,” she shared, photos flashing on screens: The trio in matching Christmas pajamas from last year, splashing in a backyard paddling pool, hugging Buddy under a pohutukawa tree. Singer Stan Walker contributed a pre-recorded performance of “I Love You Baby,” his voice cracking on the chorus. A young cousin, August’s best mate, clutched a deck of cards — the boy’s favorite game — and whispered, “If I had a magic one, I’d bring you back, mate.”

The service ended with a haka led by Dean’s brother, a nod to whakapapa amid the pain. “Mum will love you forever,” Chelsey concluded, her words echoing as mourners released yellow balloons into the overcast sky. Outside, floral tributes lined the church steps: Teddy bears, Lego sets, and handwritten notes reading “Fly high, little ones.”

Sanson, a farming hamlet 15 minutes north of Palmerston North, has wrapped Chelsey in its embrace. Local businesses donated meals; the Feilding Rugby Club, where Hugo played minis, held a torchlight vigil on November 20. But beneath the solidarity lurks a national reckoning. Family violence claims a life every four days in New Zealand, per 2024 Oranga Tamariki data, with rural isolation exacerbating risks. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addressed Parliament on November 26: “This tragedy shakes us to our core. We must invest in prevention — more counselors, faster interventions, and stigma-free help for men in crisis.” The CPSC-equivalent, WorkSafe NZ, is probing the accelerant (believed to be petrol from Dean’s truck) and home safety standards.

Chelsey, now counseled by Victim Support, has hinted at advocacy. In a November 28 update to Givealittle, she wrote: “Your kindness is my lifeline. I’ll channel this pain into something good — for other mums, other kids.” Friends describe her as resilient: A former dairy worker who traded shifts for motherhood, she homeschooled the children with hands-on projects — August’s bug hunts, Hugo’s puppet shows, Goldie’s finger-painting sessions.

As December dawns, Sanson’s SH1 hums with commuters, but the Field home remains a taped-off scar: Charred beams, melted toys scattered like ghosts. Chelsey sleeps with the children’s scorched keepsakes — a half-burnt storybook, Goldie’s tiny shoe — whispering goodnights to the silence. The coroner’s report, due mid-2026, may yield answers, but for now, her statement endures: A mother’s love, unquenched by flames, demanding the world remember not the horror, but the light her angels brought.

In Sanson, the fields sway on, indifferent. But Chelsey’s words ripple outward, a call to protect the vulnerable before the spark ignites.