Father Denies Starting Fatal House Fire During Inquest
A Brisbane coroner's inquest has heard confrontational testimony from a father whose young son died in a devastating house fire at an off-grid rural property in southeast Queensland in 2017.
The man vehemently denied suggestions he started the blaze to discipline his children for having a messy bedroom, pushing back against claims he had changed his account of events and attempted to influence witnesses.
During three hours of evidence on Wednesday, the father frequently interrupted counsel assisting Kate Juhasz with expletive-laden outbursts, accusing her of pursuing a false narrative through irrelevant questioning.
Tragic Circumstances
The fire occurred at an off-grid dwelling located 150 metres across a paddock from the father's parents' home. Both young sons suffered severe burns, with the pre-school aged child later dying in hospital after being airlifted by helicopter.
The father testified he woke to find a small fire in the boys' bedroom that rapidly escalated into a fireball. When directly asked if he accidentally started the fire, he replied "No."
Conflicting Accounts
The inquest heard testimony from the surviving son, who allegedly said his father "made the fire with his lighter" and "used the lighter on my clothes."
When questioned about using a lighter to burn his son's belongings on the day of the fire, the father responded: "I don't believe so."
Juhasz suggested the father had burned clothes to teach his sons about maintaining a tidy room, asking: "To teach them a lesson you burned some of the clothes and put them on the ground in that room and you thought you put it out?"
The father firmly rejected this scenario, stating: "I would not light a fire inside the house."
Memory Issues Claimed
The father explained his surviving son might have been confused by witnessing him burn rubbish outside, which could have contained worn-out children's clothing.
When pressed about his recollection of events, the father made the unusual claim that he had deliberately sought to erase memories of the incident.
"I have spent thousands of dollars having these memories erased by psychologists and hypnosis," he told the court. "I don't know what benefit I can be to you."
Court Intervention
Coroner Megan Fairweather intervened during the heated exchanges, asking the father to show appropriate respect for the court process aimed at determining why his son died.
"If you could just answer questions to the best of your ability with appropriate language for a court setting," she said, while assuring the unrepresented father she would intervene if questioning became unfair.
The inquest concluded on Wednesday with Fairweather offering condolences to the father and family members over their tragic loss.
The family cannot be identified for legal reasons.