A man who went to desperate lengths to try to stop the forced sale of the home he shared with his sick mother has been found dead while protesting outside parliament.
Dan Hone was found with critical injuries on the grounds of New Zealand’s Parliament House on Sunday morning.
Paramedics tried to save the father-of-one but he died at the scene on his 50th birthday.
His heartbroken sister Mika Quinn said her brother had become increasingly distraught with the impending sale of their elderly mother’s $1.6million dollar home at Moa Point in Wellington.
Their mother, who is in her 70s, was $40,000 in arrears on her $400,000 mortgage and had been made to sell the home in an auction scheduled for August 22.
She lived in the 1,234sqm hillside property for 40 years and her son had moved in to care for her in recent years.
Mr Hone had tried to prevent the mortgagee auction and had paid $5,000 towards the debt but was unable to prevent it and had ‘lost hope’, his sister said.
His death has been referred to the Coroner.
Dan Hone died on the grounds of New Zealand’s parliament house on his 50th birthday after becoming distraught over the forced sale of his mother’s $1.69m Moa Point home
Mr Hone’s mother had fallen $40,000 in arrears with her $400,000 mortgage and had been forced to put the house (pictured) up for auction on August 22
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said it’s too early to say whether the death will be treated as a suspected suicide.
Ms Quinn said that she received a text from her brother in the week leading up to his death.
Mr Hone told his sister that he was devastated ‘it had come to this’.
‘He wasn’t happy,’ she told the New Zealand Herald.
The siblings had been trying to cope with the impending sale but were worried that they might not get a good price for the home because their mother refused to allow open inspections and did not want to move out even after the sale.
Ms Quinn offered her brother a room in her house in Whanganui, 200km north of Moa Point, but was unsure if he wanted to live with his 30-year-old son instead.
‘He knew that he had a home,’ Ms Quinn said.
Their mother’s mortgage payments had gotten out of control when her interest rates doubled from $800 to $1,600 a fortnight in April.
She was also behind on her rates and had previously mortgaged the house to add a second home to the property.
The home was originally scheduled to go up for auction in July but the family won a reprieve, which delayed its sale by a month.
The father-of-one was found with critical injuries outside New Zealand’s Parliament House
Thorhilda Brennan, the mother of Mr Hone’s son, told the publication that her former partner was a ‘loving and caring family person’.
‘This is an absolute tragedy, and it really didn’t need to happen,’ she said.
she added that Mr Hone, a former mechanic, ‘was just really trying to do the best he could’ in caring for his ‘really unwell’ mother.
A private farewell is now being arranged for Mr Hone by his family who are waiting on some members to arrive from overseas.
He will be cremated and the ashes will be shared among the family, including his Australian-based father.
Ms Quinn said her brother always looked after her and was an amazing person who loved walking, motor sports and watching Bollywood and classic movies
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