Following a fatal house fire in Albanvale, a Melbourne man has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
38-year old Roland Griffiths, has been hospitalised since the March 14 event and appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old woman died in the fire, and a 17-year-old girl was admitted to hospital with critical injuries.
Mr. Griffiths was remanded in custody and will remain there until his committal hearing on September 7th this year.
According to police, he deliberately spread petrol throughout the house with the intent of trapping his children inside, as well as pouring petrol on his wife.
He is said to have taunted his family, yelling “do you want me to do it, don’t make me do it” before igniting the fuel with a lighter.
According to the complaint, Griffiths purportedly apologized to his wife and asked her not to contact the cops.