Murderer Robert Larson jailed at Bendigo County Court for arson attack on neighbour

A Bendigo murderer who tried twice in one night to burn down his neighbour’s house over a petty feud had arson attacked neighbours in the past while on parole for a life sentence.

Arsonist and murderer Robert Larson was jailed at Bendigo County Court. Picture: Allan Reinikka

A Bendigo murderer who tried twice in one night to burn down his neighbour’s house over a petty feud had arson attacked neighbours in the past while on parole for a life sentence.

Robert Larson, 56, was jailed for three years at Bendigo County Court on Monday after setting fire to his neighbour’s Golden Square house in August 2022 in a long-running feud.

While living on Burrowes St in Golden Square, Larson got into a number of disputes with his neighbour Shane Bracken whose former partner Katrina Hynes would regularly stay with him.

Robert Larson was jailed at Bendigo County Court for arson and breaching his parole for murder.

Larson decided to go after Ms Hynes who lived about 500m away on Maple St with her friend Les Ermel.

Larson was seen driving his white Holden station wagon near the Maple St house and parking in the street, with a resident of Maple St, Dane Simmons, becoming suspicious of Larson’s presence in the area.

He saw Larson use natural firelighters to set fire to the wood below the window on the front of the weatherboard house Mr Ermel and Ms Hynes lived in and drove away.

Mr Simmons used a bucket of water to extinguish the fire before returning home.

Robert Larson lit a fire below the window of a weatherboard house in Bendigo while its occupant was fast asleep. Picture: Generic image.

Shortly after, he saw Larson stumble out of his car and walk up to the same damaged window that he set alight.

Mr Simmons called triple-0 when he saw Larson use a lighter near the damaged window.

Ms Hynes wasn’t home, but Mr Ermel was sleeping inside and had no idea what was happening until police arrived.

Police arrived to find Larson lying on the front lawn of the house he was trying to burn down “heavily intoxicated”, with the arsonist “falling asleeping” after being handcuffed.

Judge Mark Gamble said it was “good fortune” the highly flammable weatherboard house didn’t go up in flames while Mr Ermel was asleep.

Arsonist Robert Larson pleaded guilty in the County Court at Bendigo to setting fire to a house while its occupants slept.

Mr Ermel said in a statement he felt “violated” and “had done nothing to deserve it”.

“I’m sure he was going to kill me, burn me to death,” he said.

Larson denied setting the fire when he was arrested, but he later pleaded guilty on March 15 to the arson attack.

Larson was on parole for murder after he was sentenced to life in prison for murder and armed robbery in Bendigo in the 1980s.

Judge Mark Gamble said Larson had shown no remorse and had shown “persistence” by coming back for a second go.

Judge Gamble said Larson appeared to be “motivated by some grievance” and had previously attacked other neighbours in an earlier dispute.

In 2009 when he was released on parole and living in Reservoir Larson had engaged in another extended war with his neighbours.

On July 29, 2009, police were called on three separate occasions when Larson got drunk and went into his backyard, yelling and loudly banging his bins, but hid whenever police investigated.

About 11pm that night Larson took more than two litres of petrol and doused his neighbours house in petrol and set it on fire with multiple people inside.

Judge Gamble found Larson had “limited” prospects for rehabilitation and he needed to deter the arsonist from attacking his neighbours in the future and to protect the community.

Larson was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison, with two years non-parole.

Because Larson is serving a jail-term for the remainder of his natural life, it will be served concurrently with his life sentence.