It was initially thought the 35-year-old, better known as Stacey, and her partner David Ian Clarke (49) died in a Wesley St house fire, but police are now saying evidence suggests they died before the fire started.
A 46-year-old man appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, charged with arson.
He was remanded in custody by consent and granted interim name suppression by justice of the peace Russell Atkinson until his next appearance in three weeks.
Southern police district investigations manager Detective Inspector Steve Wood said no-one had been charged in relation to the deaths yet. However, further charges were likely to follow.
Miss Neve's younger sister, Krysta Neve, of Christchurch, said the family was devastated to learn about the homicide suggestion and were struggling to understand why anyone would want to hurt someone so ``full of love''.
She said for any family, such news was a shock.
``She was a beautiful soul, an independent, very strong woman, and she was a loving `mother' to her dog Hunnie.
``She was affectionate. She was just everybody's friend, always bubbly, always welcoming people with open arms and going in for the hug straight away.
``She was full of love.''
She believed Mr Clarke was also a kind person who was good to Miss Neve.
On social media, many left heartwarming tributes to the couple. Typical comments were that they would miss Miss Neve's ``smiley face'', her ``gentle soul with endless love for your friends and family'', and her ability to ``always turn a bad day into a good one''.
Wesley St residents were horrified the incident was now being treated as a double homicide.
Neighbour Mel Ryall said she was ``pretty shaken up''.
``For it to happen right in my backyard is just horrifying.
She said everyone in the neighbourhood knew who the couple were but nobody knew about them. They kept to themselves.
Another resident, who declined to be named, said
she had bumped into the pair several times while walking down the street with her children.
``He was always on the phone - he always seemed to be stressing out.
``But the lady was always nice. She was always coming and going - quite friendly.
``I got the impression they liked to keep to themselves.''
Det Insp Wood said at a media conference yesterday morning police were now treating the deaths as a double homicide. The man charged with arson was known to the victims.
A forensic pathologist has completed postmortems and the bodies have been returned to their families.
``However, police are not releasing the cause of death at this time as those details are significant to the investigation, and public release could later compromise evidence.''
When asked if drug links were part of a motive for the murders, he said it would form part of the police evidence.
``This is a complex investigation, complicated by the fire damage.
``We're not ruling out anything.''
Det Insp Wood confirmed police were aware of the address and the occupants before the fire, but declined to say why they were known to police.
`We still have a long way to go in order to establish the exact details ... but a team of detectives are continuing to work tirelessly on this case.''
Police are keen on more public help, in particular about any movements of people, vehicles and motorcycles near the Wesley St scene in the early hours of Monday, January 22.
Dunedin police (03) 471-4800, Crimestoppers 0800 111-555.
