Rhiannon Watherston torched her Elizabeth South rental home in revenge attack against landlord

A mum torched her rental home – then watched as it burned down – in a revenge attack against her landlord for making her family homeless, a court has heard.

A woman torched her rental home in a revenge attack against her landlord who had given her family 90 days’ notice to vacate the property, a court has heard.

Mother-of-three Rhiannon Sarri Watherson, 37, then watched the flames and smoke take hold from a nearby property.

She appeared in the District Court on Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of arson over the August 2020 incident, which caused more than $200,000 damage to the insured property

George Katsaras, for Watherston, said his client had expressed “a high level of anger and frustration” at multiple disagreements with the landlord about maintenance and other issues.

He said “the final straw” was when the landlord said he was coming to repair a leaky shower, but arrived when Watherston was not home. She discovered the water had been turned off at the mains.

Rhiannon Sarri Watherston leaves the District Court on Wednesday.

The following day she again returned home to find the water turned off at the mains and padlocked.

“After a disagreement Watherston said she thought: ‘f--k this, I’ve had enough’, so she planted a whole bunch of stuff and actually burnt the house down.

Mr Katsaras said the landlord had given the family 90 days’ notice to vacate his property so that he could move back in.

“I think I did it because he actually caused my family so much pain, so much grief, making us homeless,” the court heard she told a psychologist.

“I thought if you are going to do this to me, I’m going to make it so you can’t have your house back.”

Mr Katsaras said the psychologist had noted Watherston, who was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder, became “increasingly angry resulting in an impulsive and revengeful act of arson”.

“Clearly the landlord was within his rights to ask them to vacate the premises and clearly her motivation was getting back at him for making her family homeless,” Mr Katsaras said.

He said Watherston and her family now live with her in-laws, where Watherston initially slept in a tent but now sleeps in a caravan outside.

James Slocombe, prosecuting, said prosecutors did not accept the claims made against the landlord who was within his rights to ask the family to vacate the property.

He said Watherston, who had moved out of the property on the day before the fire, had returned late at night to torch the house, before stopping at a nearby recreational centre to “watch the extent of the fire and see the smoke and fire take hold”.

“Clearly a sentence if imprisonment is warranted,” he said.

Watherston will be sentenced next month.