Police investigating a death in Palmerston North say the investigation is currently confined to the family involved.
A man in his 60s died and a woman in her 30s was critically injured and suffered stab wounds to her face and upper body on Friday night.
The Armed Offenders Squad was called out after police were notified of yelling from a house in Russell Street about 7pm.
The man and woman are both part of a large family of Chinese descent.
The man's body was badly burned and police intend to remove his body from the scene on Saturday so a post-mortem can be carried out.
Police said the woman underwent surgery overnight on Friday and her injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Detective Craig Sheridan of the Manawatu CIB said the investigation is at this stage focused on the family who are clearly distraught and language barriers are causing challenges.
He said police are trying to locate any weapons and determine what led to the attacks. Mr Sheridan says it will take some days to determine how the fire started.
