Husband kills devoted teacher in murder suicide

Letters found at the Kingsbury home where the high-school teacher was murdered suggest the horrific crime was planned weeks in advance.

Detectives investigating the fire. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mrs A was a devoted schoolteacher who at 77 years old had no plans of retiring.

On December 19, 2020 — the last day of the school year at the secondary college she taught home economics in Melbourne’s north — she was joyful and happy.

As she packed her bags with work to do over the holidays, she reminded the principal she would be returning the following year.

But within hours, Mrs A was dead.

Firefighters found her and her husband lying side-by-side in the bedroom of their Kingsbury home after being called to a blaze at the property about 3.35am on December 20.

Firefighters were called to the blaze. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

On first glance, investigators could be forgiven for mistaking it as a suicide pact.

But on further investigation, they would uncover something far more sinister.

Dressed in her pyjamas and preparing to go to bed, her husband — who can only be known as Mr B due to a court order — had whacked her to the head with such force it would fracture her skull.

He then tied a ligature around her neck and strangled her to death.

At 3.18am, CCTV shows him exiting the Keats Ave house, before returning inside moments later carrying a stove lighter.

Four minutes later, the footage shows a bright explosion inside the house.

A summary inquest into Mrs A’s death in the Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard Mr B had poured kerosene and petrol throughout the home, in particular in the hallway and in the bedroom where his wife lay deceased.

He then left the front door ajar, and propped open the rear door with the container of kerosene to ensure air flowed through the house to fuel the fire more.

He lit the accelerant, before getting into bed beside his wife.

The stove lighter was found on the bed near his hand.

Earlier, at 10.33pm, dashcam footage revealed he moved his car out of the driveway and parked it in front of his wife’s car on the street.

There was no history of violence at the home. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

He then left the house and car keys in the letter box in moves suspected of him wanting to protect them from being damaged in the fire.

The court heard no-one saw it coming — not even medical practitioners who had treated the pair for general aged health concerns.

There was no history of violence in the home.

But found at the scene was a suicide note, addressed to his wife and written on December 10 by Mr B, indicating he had been planning their deaths.

In the letter, he states he started contemplating suicide weeks earlier on November 27, and included his reasons and the proposed method as either hanging himself or burning the house down with both of them in it.

In another letter found to a close friend, dated December 11, he made similar remarks but indicated he intended to do it following the end of the school year.

The notes showed the murder-suicide was likely premeditated. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

State Coroner John Cain found the notes — which bore the same signature to what Mr B penned on the couple’s marriage certificate from April 2000 — showed premeditation.

Judge Cain found Mr B was likely suffering from an undiagnosed mental health condition, with friends and family reporting “mood swings” and “periodic manic behaviour”.

“The evidence suggests that in the lead up to this incident the pair were enduring several significant relationship stressors, including potential separation, financial disputes, his health and stress over isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Judge Cain said.

He said Mrs A was “not aware or agreeable” to her husband’s actions.

“The unexpected and unnatural death of a person is a devastating event,” he said.

“Violence perpetrated by an intimate partner is particularly shocking given that all persons have a right to safety, respect, and trust in their most intimate relationships.”

He referred the case to the coroner’s prevention unit as part of a review into family violence deaths.

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