Ben Stonehouse remembered as Townsville teen killed in Garbutt house fire

A grieving mother has remembered her son who died in a “mystery” double-fatal house fire in Townsville as a hard-working young man who loved cars, horses and his girlfriend.

The Garbutt house was destroyed by fire, with two teenagers later succumbing to their critical injuries, dying in hospita.

A grieving mother has remembered her son who died in the “mystery” double-fatal house fire in Townsville as a hard-working and industrious young man who loved cars, horses and his girlfriend.

An emotional Christie Stonehouse confirmed that son Benjamin, known lovingly as Ben, had “fought to the end”, finally succumbing to critical burns in Brisbane on Saturday after the horror house fire in Garbutt on Friday afternoon.

Ms Stonehouse, a solo parent, said in addition to a devastated family, Ben also left behind dog Scout, horses Claire and Turbo and beloved girlfriend Shelby.

“(Shelby’s) not coping well, he absolutely adored her: she adored him and he adored her.”

Ms Stonehouse also revealed that she owned the double-storey home in Chandler Street that had been destroyed by fire and that Ben and the other 18-year-old victim were both tenants in the home, along with two other older adults.

Ben Stonehouse and beloved girlfriend Shelby. Picture: Supplied

She said she still wasn’t sure how the fire began.

“I’m not sure at this point, I haven’t been told too much,” she said.

“They haven’t said too much to me, I’m just letting them do their investigations and then let me know.”

Ben Stonehouse with family members Jason, Vicki, Elizabeth, Mila and mother Christie. Picture: Supplied

Ms Stonehouse said her adored son was a beautiful young man.

“He was always there to help everyone,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion, “he always helped the underdog.”

Ben Stonehouse and Auntie Dawn from New Zealand. Picture: Supplied

Ben Stonehouse’s adored pet dog Scout. Picture: Supplied

Ms Stonehouse, who works is food services at Townsville Hospital, said her only child was a former student at Pimlico State High School who had already completed a spray painting and panel beating apprenticeship and had started learning the plastering trade.

“He worked his arse off,” she said.

Townsville man Ben Stonehouse with one of his cars. Picture: Supplied

She said Ben was a hard worker who used the money he made on cars, including a V8 Falcon.

“He just went and bought himself a VR Commodore five-litre V8 and he was fixing it up for himself … he was a petrol head.”

Ben Stonehouse and horse Turbo. Picture: Supplied

Young Townsville man Ben Stonehouse who was tragically killed in a house fire in Chandler Street, Garbutt, on Friday afternoon. Picture: Supplied

Ms Stonehouse confirmed that she had given her blessing to a GoFundMe page established by a friend of Ben’s to raise money for the family in the wake of the tragedy.

The page alleges that the fire was the result of an “arson tragedy”.

Ben Stonehouse and horse Turbo. Picture: Supplied

Ben Stonehouse and horse Turbo. Picture: Supplied

In a statement over the weekend, Queensland Police Service said they were investigating the cause of the blaze, appealing to anyone with CCTV or dashcam vision to come forward.

Ms Stonehouse said all the smoke alarms in the home had just been upgraded by her electrician.

Originally published as Ben Stonehouse remembered as Townsville teen killed in Garbutt house fire