Teen facing house fire murder charge refused bail

THE 17-year-old has been charged with murdering a man whose body was found after a blaze in northern NSW.

A teen charged with murdering a man in northern NSW has been refused bail.
Picture: Bill Hearne

A TEEN charged with murder following a house fire near Kyogle has been remanded in custody.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on Friday.

Emergency services were called to a rural property on Smiths Creek Rd at Smiths Creek, west of Kyogle, about 5.45pm on Sunday, August 16 after they received reports of a property being well alight.

Rural Fire Service crews attended the home and they spent several hours working to extinguish the blaze.

Officers from the Richmond Police District also attended and established a crime scene after the body of a 64-year-old man was found inside the burnt home.

Local detectives, assisted by the State Crime Command, established Strike Force Kumulla to investigate the circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire.

Officers arrested the teen at a home in Kyogle on Friday.

He was taken to Casino Police Station and charged with murder, improperly interfering with a corpse and damaging property by fire.

He was refused bail and appeared before court for the first time in Parramatta on Saturday.

The teen’s solicitor made no application for bail on his behalf and it was formally refused by Magistrate Peter Miszalski.

The case was adjourned to go before Lismore Children’s Court on Monday.

The teen has entered no formal pleas to any of his charges.

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