Husband accused of murder after allegedly dousing his wife in petrol and setting her on fire faces retrial after jury fails to reach a verdict
- Jury discharged after failing to reach a verdict during a murder trial on Thursday
- Kulwinder Singh pleaded not guilty to murdering wife at Rouse Hill home in 2013
- His wife was allegedly set on fire and suffered burns to 90 per cent of her body
A jury has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict at the trial of a Sydney man accused of murdering his wife by setting her on fire.
Kulwinder Singh, 41, pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to murdering Parwinder Kaur, 32, in early December 2013 at their Rouse Hill home.
Ms Kaur sustained burns to 90 per cent of her body in the petrol-fuelled blaze, before she died the following day.
Kulwinder Singh, 41 (pictured), pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to murdering Parwinder Kaur, 32, in early December 2013 at their Rouse Hill home
The Crown alleged Singh (pictured, leaving the court on Thursday) poured petrol on his wife and ignited her causing her death – and at the time he intended to kill her or inflict grievous bodily harm
She was seen by neighbours on fire, slowing moving down the driveway, with her husband behind her.
A neighbour told the court they noticed Singh in the driveway saying, ‘I’m a good man’.
The Crown alleged Singh poured petrol on his wife and ignited her causing her death – and at the time he intended to kill her or inflict grievous bodily harm.
But he told police ‘she did it to herself’ when he was upstairs in their bedroom and he then rushed downstairs after hearing her scream.
His lawyer submitted the ‘tragic accident’ occurred when Ms Kaur set herself alight, not meaning to harm herself, but seeking some sort of attention.
‘This was a feeling of desperation. It wasn’t suicide,’ Margaret Cunneen SC said.
The court heard Ms Kaur had called 000 moments before she left the house and said, ‘My husband nearly kill me’.
After a two-month trial before Justice Natalie Adams and four days of deliberations, the jury returned on Friday to say they were unable to reach a unanimous or majority decision.
The judge then discharged the jury.
‘I thank you for your service here for the last eight weeks or so,’ Justice Natalie Adams said.
‘Some time next year a different jury is going to perhaps come along and have to consider this again, or maybe not.
‘I don’t know. At the moment there’s no verdict, so the matter is unresolved.’
The case will return to court on November 1.
Ms Kaur sustained burns to 90 per cent of her body in the petrol-fuelled blaze (pictured, the victim’s sister)