A man accused of setting a neighbour alight at a Mangerton public housing complex used a Masterfoods tomato sauce bottle full of fuel to first douse his foe, a court has heard.
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In damning testimony at odds with the “good wife” statement she once gave police, Kylie Graham claimed her former partner Timothy Illingworth stockpiled the harmless-looking bottles, even carrying a miniature one in his pocket.
“There were many he’d made up to be weapons,” she told a jury at Illingworth’s Wollongong District Court trial on Wednesday. “I’d see him wash them and remove the labels.”
Joseph Baldacchino, 45, suffered burns to 17 per cent of his body in the confrontation at Myuna Way on January 24 last year. His partner, Laura Kirby, was also burnt in her efforts to extinguish the flames.
Ms Graham gave evidence the quarrel stemmed from a Christmas day, 2016 gathering she attempted to host for those at the complex who had no family. Ms Kirby became “quite drunk and abusive” and ruined the event, she said. She said Illingworth produced the sauce bottle then and repeatedly doused Ms Kirby in fuel, but never produced a flame.
“I'd say he doused her five, maybe half a dozen times. She was just going around the building block screaming 'motherf-cker'.”
Ms Kirby became tearful as she told the jury she believed the January 24 attack on her partner could have been prevented if she had reported the Christmas day dousings to police.
“Joe and I came to a decision that we didn't want the repercussions … I blame myself deeply for it.”
The evening of the alleged assault, Ms Graham urged Mr Illingworth’s pitbull to attack Ms Kirby and Mr Baldacchino as they went to leave one of the unit blocks.
Mr Baldacchino, who has suffered strokes, struggled to provide a coherent account of events in court. He erupted in tears early – “This is very hard for me”, he said. “I’ve been waiting for this day a long time”.
He said the two parties had a verbal argument about missing property and about the Christmas Day dousings – “you [doused] my missus three times with thinners on her” – before he saw Illingworth produce a lighter – described in earlier evidence as a silver, gun-shaped jet lighter.
“It had a big blue flame on it … I thought uh-ooooh,” he said.
“He squirted it on me … flicking – two, three, four and next thing I’m on fire.”
He credited Ms Kirby with saving most of his face from the flames by burying it in her chest.
“I was screaming … it was like a scream I’ve never heard before,” he said.
“It was very bad. I couldn’t sleep last night. It always comes back to me.
“Skin was falling off me. It was that bad mate,” he said, addressing Illingworth.
“That was scary mate. It was so scary. It was wrong!”
He became unable to continue evidence on Wednesday morning but returned in the afternoon, growing irate under cross examination at times.
Illingworth has been charged him with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He broke down when his former partner told the court Conan had been classed as a vicious dog and euthanised as a result of the alleged assault.
Ms Graham said the dog was registered as Illingworth’s companion pet “through a loophole, through Tim’s doctors”.
“He was a beautiful dog. He could go on buses, trains, ferries. Into Crown Street mall. He was vicious on command.”
Ms Graham admitted she lied in her initial interview with police, claiming no knowledge of the alleged assault, in a bid to support her then-boyfriend.
But on Wednesday she described watching Illingworth squeeze fuel onto Mr Baldacchino then light it in mid-stream.
“I was actually at the top of the stairs, holding one of my neighbours’ head in my chest so she didn’t see what I saw,” she said.
Under cross-examination she admitted using illegal drugs at the time, but denied this may have affected her memory of events.
“I remember what I saw that night. I see that on a regular basis. I see Joe burning, running, on a regular basis … in my mind. I see it when I shut my eyes at night. It’s constantly played over in my mind.”
The trial continues Thursday.