Teen starts fire at mum’s unit after sleep assault

Laine Clark | July 4, 2023

Thinking his mother had assaulted him while he slept, a teenager started a fire that destroyed his little brother’s ashes and forced his mum to relocate.

He later sent text messages to his mother, taunting her about what he had done.

However, it emerged she had not struck him as he was sleeping at her apartment north of Brisbane in November 2021 – it was her ex-partner.

“It’s a strange case, isn’t it,”Judge Paul Smith said in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday.

In the early morning, two people – including the ex-partner – entered the 44-year-old mother’s Margate unit and struck the sleeping teen in the head before fleeing.

“He wrongfully believed that his mother had been involved in an assault that had been committed by his mother’s ex-partner so it’s quite convoluted,” the crown prosecutor said.

After the assault, the teen – who was 18 at the time – mostly likely started the fire in the loungeroom that caused $40,000 worth of damage by knocking over a candle, the court heard.

The Crown said the teen was motivated by revenge.

The fire caused significant damage to the residence at the two-level brick unit complex, forcing the mother to move.

“The most tragic aspect is that one of his little brother’s … ashes were inside the property and were lost – that is something he feels terribly about,” defence barrister Jenna Bonner said.

The teenager boasted about what he had done in text messages later sent to his mother.

“He did write a number of messages where he taunted his mother about not having a house anymore,” the prosecutor said.

The teen – who was using methamphetamine at the time – has not been able to personally apologise to his mother due to bail conditions and a domestic violence order, the court heard.

However, Ms Bonner said her client did not accept the Crown’s submission that he acted like a “vigilante” when he started the fire.

She said the teen blamed his disorientated state following the blow to the head, describing the fire as “not a planned act”.

Judge Smith said it appeared the teen’s actions were reckless not intentional.

However, he noted the fire had potentially serious consequences with the risk to others who lived in the complex.

The teen had a traumatic upbringing and a difficult relationship with his mother, the court heard.

After his parents separated, the teen continued to witness his mother’s drug use and was physically assaulted by her new partner, at one stage locked in a room with the windows and doors nailed shut.

The teen – now 19 – has struggled with anxiety, depression and complex PTSD, along with alcohol and substance abuse.

The teenager on Tuesday pleaded guilty to endangering a property by fire and was sentenced to two years in jail, released on immediate parole.