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Sydney man Kulwinder Singh has been found not guilty of murdering his wife Parwinder Kaur by setting her alight at their Rouse Hill home in 2013.
The jury went out on Tuesday morning and deliberated for just a few hours before declaring Mr Singh not guilty of murder at around 3pm.
A cry erupted from the public gallery as the verdict was handed down. Seconds later, Supreme Court Justice Natalie Adams told Mr Singh he was free to leave the dock and sit with his family.
He said outside court he was “very happy” about the verdict, while a supporter added: “It’s the right decision.”
Neighbours told the court they heard a bloodcurdling scream on the afternoon of December 2, 2013, before seeing Ms Kaur engulfed in flames and Mr Singh frantically trying to pat them out in the driveway.
She died from catastrophic burn injuries in hospital.
The Crown case alleged Mr Singh had threatened to kill Ms Kaur as the financial problems in their “unhappy marriage” escalated, culminating in his pouring petrol over her and setting her alight in the laundry.
The court heard Ms Kaur had dialled triple-0 minutes before she suffered the burns and told the operator: “My husband nearly kill me.”
But Mr Singh maintained his innocence and argued at trial Ms Kaur had set herself alight.
In a forceful closing address on Monday his barrister Margaret Cunneen told the jury Ms Kaur had not intended to kill herself, but rather to “create a drama” and get attention.
Ms Cunneen told the jury “the science doesn’t lie” as she pointed to a plethora of scientific evidence she said supported Mr Singh’s innocence.
Running through that evidence, Mr Cuneen said about a “teacup” of petrol was poured on Ms Kaur, and the can placed neatly back in the cupboard with about 1.25L left in it.
Only Ms Kaur’s fingerprints were found on the can and on a lighter, and the petrol was on her body for some 5-10 minutes before she was set alight, the court heard.
She had likely worn a towel on her head to protect her hair and face, and donned a thick cardigan — despite the sweltering December day — she hoped would protect her body, Ms Cuneen said.
But the knitted cardigan, made of acrylic rather than fire retardant wool, erupted catastrophically, an expert testified.
Ms Cuneen said no murderer would seek to protect his victim’s hair or face, nor carefully replace the unemptied petrol can in the cupboard.
She added that it made no sense Ms Kaur did not run from the house the second she was doused in petrol, nor mention the petrol in the triple-0 call before she was set alight.
“It’s not Mr Singh who did this,” Ms Cuneen said. “It’s a conflicted, angry, anxious woman who is losing control.”
“We all want to believe that people don’t tend to do terrible things to themselves,” she said.
“It is an uncomfortable fact, but true, that sometimes terrible accidents do happen.”
The acquittal marks the end of Mr Singh’s second trial for Ms Kaur’s murder, the first ending in a hung jury in October 2019.
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