The guilty verdict in the trial of the fatal Loafers Lodge fire was made by a jury of only 10 people

50-year old Esarona Lologa has been found guilty of five counts of murder in the High Court at Wellington.

More than 100 witnesses appeared over five weeks, and jury deliberations took 17 hours.

Herald reporter Melissa Nightingale was in court this morning, and says members of the public gallery stood up in respect when the jury left the room.

She says the unanimous decision came from 10 jurors after two jurors dropped out because of illness and injury.