Man who said wife set herself on fire found not guilty of murder
Seven years after Parwinder Kaur was seen engulfed in flames moving down her Sydney driveway with her husband behind her, he has been cleared of her murder.
Kulwinder Singh said he had been upstairs packing clothes when he heard her screaming, telling police "she did it to herself".
Ms Kaur sustained burns to 90 per cent of her body in the petrol-fuelled blaze at their Rouse Hill home on December 2, 2013.
A NSW Supreme Court jury on Tuesday took two hours to find her 42-year-old husband not guilty of murder.
He faced a retrial after another jury was discharged in October, 2019 when it failed to reach a verdict.
One neighbour had heard a "loud blood-curdling" scream, before Ms Kaur was seen on fire, slowing moving down the driveway, with her husband behind her.
Prosector Philip Hogan alleged Mr Singh poured petrol on his wife before setting her alight after arguing over finances, including his requests for her to contribute to the mortgage.
But his barrister Margaret Cunneen SC said Ms Kaur poured the petrol and set herself on fire to create a "drama", confident the blaze would be put out.
"The crown case has no merit and Mr Singh is an entirely innocent man," she told the jury.
Only woman's fingerprints on petrol tin
Ms Kaur had perhaps become frustrated about various matters and decided to "create a drama and to set fire to herself when she was confident it would soon be put out".
"There is simply no forensic evidence that supports the crown case," Ms Cunneen said.
"It all points to the only other possibility that, for her own reasons, she set herself on fire."
Ten of her fingerprints were found on the petrol tin, but none of her husband's and only her fingerprint was found on the lighter as well as only her DNA.
"There was not a skerrick of petrol" on his shirt, trousers or sandals although petrol traces were found on the laundry floor, she said.
A police officer said she had asked Ms Kaur numerous times what happened but she didn't reply as she lay on the nature strip being treated.
"I asked her where it hurt the most," she said.
"She said 'Everywhere'."
Her husband, who had minor burns on his palms, was screaming incoherently
He said he sustained his burns when trying to douse the flames, after he had run downstairs when he saw her burning.
Amanpreet Kaur, who is married to Ms Kaur's brother, testified her sister-in-law would never have set herself alight, after denying making up evidence that Mr Singh threatened to "vanish" or "kill" his wife.
Call to triple 000 from burning woman
Mr Hogan said about 10 minutes before the neighbour heard the scream Ms Kaur called triple 000.
In the call played to the jury, she gave her address then said "my husband nearly killed me" before the operator asked: "What did he do to you?"
But there was no answer and the call was terminated.
Ms Cunneen argued she rang triple 000 to ensure help was on its way before slowly and methodically pouring the petrol on herself, waiting some minutes and then setting herself on fire.
However, she underestimated the powerful combination of her acrylic cardigan and the petrol, which caused her to "burn and burn and burn".
Ms Cunneen said Ms Kaur had been desperately trying to stop her husband from leaving, saying she turned to him in their final moments together.
"She said to him 'save me Vinder'," she said.
"The love was at the fore. The love was there."
But her relatives, called by the Crown, testified Ms Kaur had wanted to leave her husband and the financial disagreement came after she refused to have her pay go into his account.
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