Harley Thompson: Bomaderry man accused of arson murder allegedly said he wanted to see victim burn

A South Coast man accused of murdering his neighbour after setting his home on fire was allegedly hallucinating after taking methamphetamine, a court has heard.

A Bomaderry man accused of murdering his neighbour after lighting his home on fire allegedly said he wanted to see the middle-aged man “burn”, the Nowra Supreme Court has heard.

Harley Thompson, 27, was charged with murder after allegedly starting the fatal blaze on August 2, 2020, just four doors down from his own home on Leonrard St in Bomaderry.

Cameron Robert Johnson, 49, who Thompson claimed to have met for the first time that day, died in the inferno, while Mr Johnson’s 21-year-old son, who has special needs, escaped the fire unscathed.

During the first day of hearings into the fatal fire, the court heard that two witnesses claimed to have heard Thompson say “burn c**t” and was heard laughing as the fire raged, according to the crown prosecutor.

In a letter to Thompson’s mother intercepted by police, the prosecutor alleged Thompson had admitted to starting the blaze.

“I thought, fuck this c**t. So, I burnt his house,” Thompson is alleged to have said.

“I started in the front room, then went window by window so I knew he was dead.”

Detectives arrested 26-year-old Harley Thompson a few doors down from the burned out Leonard St home. Police allege he had smashed a window at the Johnsons’ home before pouring petrol inside and lighting the blaze. Picture: David Swift

Thompson admitted to having thoughts of murder to psychiatrist Andrew Ellis, according to one of two mental health reports tendered by the prosecutor. In the reports, Thompson is concluded to have likely suffered from hallucinations and delusions.

“Mr Ellis is of the opinion that the accused was at the time of the assessment suffering from a psychotic episode,” the prosecutor said.

“He considered it likely that he was suffering delusions and hallucinations as part of his ongoing psychosis across the period of time of the offending.”

Thompson previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. The crown prosecutor said his defence was seeking Section 28, which would find Thompson not guilty due to the impairment of mental illness.

Thompson admitted to taking methamphetamine on the day of the fire, but told police during an interview it was a small amount and was less than what he would usually take daily. Mr Ellis ruled the drug was unlikely to be the sole cause of his psychosis.

The author of the second report, Dr Kerri Eagle, further concluded that Thompson was likely suffering from schizophrenia.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Dr Eagle said Thompson suffered from a “distorted” view of the victim, believing him to be a pedophile who posed a risk to his child, and was subject to auditory hallucinations in the form of voices in his head which he claimed to have had for years.

Thompson also admitted to the likelihood of the illness during an interview with police, but had not been formally diagnosed. He denied any knowledge prior to the incident that Johnson was allegedly a pedophile and denied hearing voices in his head.

That denial, Dr Eagle said, was a result of Thompson being an “unreliable narrator” and said that while he understood the criminality of the alleged arson, he was not able to comprehend the moral culpability given his mental state and his conviction Johnson was allegedly a pedophile.

“Thompson acknowledged during my interview with him that he had not been honest during the police interview,” Dr Eagle said. “He said it was because he was motivated to get bail.”

Played at length during the court proceedings, the interview held between Thompson and NSW Police detectives shortly after his arrest outlines Thompson’s view of the hours leading up to the fire, including an alleged altercation with Johnson which led Thompson to attack the home.

Thompson claimed Johnson had almost struck him with his car earlier that day, after which the two began arguing verbally.

“That night when I came back, I’m standing there and he jumped out of the car and yelled at me,” he said.

Harley Thompson, 27, was charged with murder after allegedly starting the fatal blaze on August 2, 2020, just four doors down from his own home on Leonard St in Bomaderry. Picture: David Swift

“I was really angry, so I grabbed my hammer and I smashed the front windows and the car windows and then the lights.

“Then I ran back home.”

That evidence, Dr Eagle said, was not corroborated, and was indicative of his psychosis.

“Thompson genuinely believed at the time that his voices were not a symptom of mental illness and would likely have experienced them as part of his natural being or it’s something that wasn’t necessarily a symptom of a disorder,” Dr Eagle said.

“That is characteristic of people who experience psychosis.”

Both Dr Eagle and Dr Ellis told the crown prosecutor they believed Thompson was not faking his symptoms.

The police interview also shed new light on Johnson’s final moments, revealing details into triple-0 calls made shortly before his death.

According to the detectives, Johnson first called triple-0 at around 9pm to report a man outside of his house smashing windows.

Police attended the home twice in the next hour, with Johnson making a second call at around 9.45pm reporting that the same man had returned and was causing more damage.

“In the last call, Mr Johnson says the man is back and is pouring petrol through his window,” the detectives said.

“He then goes on to say the man has thrown a firebomb through the window.

“He’s trying to put out the fire at the front part of his house and describes fires starting all around the house.”

NSW Police allegedly arrived eight minutes into the final 10 minute emergency call.

At the time, the house and vehicle were completely engulfed in flames.

“The victim did not escape the smoke-filled house and died of carbon monoxide poisoning,” the crown prosecutor said.

“The body was removed from the house and resuscitation was attempted in vain and he was declared deceased.”

The hearing continues.