By Mitchell Clarke and Jessica Anstice
The death of a 54-year-old woman outside an Officer townhouse is not being treated as suspicious.
The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated, with police waiting for the result of a post-mortem before releasing further comment.
A man was arrested at the scene, on matters not directly related to her death, however he was later released without charge.
Police suspect the two parties were known to each other, but their relationship is yet to be determined.
Emergency services responded to a reported house fire on Keats Street at the corner of Faulkner Drive in the Arcadia estate on Friday 2 August, about 9.50am.
Homicide squad detectives later combed the scene to try and piece together exactly what happened.
Students from a local specialist school were on a bike riding excursion through the estate when the fire broke out.
They watched on as their heroic teacher ran into the burning building and helped the woman to safety.
Despite his best efforts performing CPR, the woman died in a park directly opposite the house, with the young students witnessing the entire ordeal.
Tradesmen Chris Clayton and Lewis Tomlinson were working on a nearby construction site when they noticed plumes of black smoke before running towards the scene.
They recalled a woman helplessly screaming “I’ve been stabbed! I’ve been stabbed!”.
The two men claim they saw a man trying to flee the scene by jumping a fence before being tackled by a number of police, where he was arrested.
A neighbouring primary school was in lock down for a period of time as firefighters worked to bring the fire under control.
Tributes and flowers were left outside the scene with Pakenham resident Laci Tehuia telling Nine News that she hoped “justice is brought for this lady”.
The family would like to pass on their appreciation to everyone who was involved and assisted at the time, including members of the public and emergency services personnel.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
