This $24m mansion burnt to the ground. The arsonists almost backed out

Property developer Steve Nassif and his fellow arsonist pulled up to a $24 million harbourside mansion on Sydney’s lower north shore in August 2022, intending to set it alight.

The pair were loaded with fuel after stopping at a service station in West Ryde on their way to 62 Cliff Road, Northwood.

But once inside, then-19-year-old Adams Kipkosgei Bett “changed his mind about proceeding with the arson”, walked back to Nassif’s coupe and left, according to the agreed facts.

“The property was not damaged on that occasion.”

Two weeks later, Nassif picked up Bett from Granville and they stopped to buy a red plastic jerrycan and 36 litres of petrol. The pair followed through with their plan, turning the heritage-listed house to rubble.

At about 10.42pm on September 3, 2022, a bright glow was seen emanating from the home.

Steve Nassif walks into Downing Centre court this week, charged over the Northwood mansion fire.Credit: Steven Siewert

Police received a radio broadcast of a house fire, neighbours heard breaking glass and banging and were evacuated, and firefighters described the flames as shooting 20 metres into the air.

A Toyota HiAce campervan, captured on CCTV leaving the area, was later found at Nassif’s home in Wentworth Falls, where he was arrested in December 2022.

Facing Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, Nassif, 70, pleaded guilty to damaging a property by fire. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.

“There’s no apparent motive,” his barrister Mark Dennis, SC, said. He said the defence did not concede to the valuation of the home.

The property, which boasts a tennis court and water frontage, was bought some 10 months earlier for $24.1 million by next-door neighbour and fund manager “Owen” Ouyang Chen and his sister Sandy Chen Yi Fei through a family trust.

“Owen” Ouyang Chen (right) and his dog on Cliff Road in Northwood after one of his properties was set alight.Credit: Nine News

Owen Chen, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, was seen “returning his dog” to his bordering home at 60 Cliff Road the day after the blaze, the facts state.

He agreed to participate in a police interview with an interpreter the night after the fire.

“When asked whether he lit the fire, Chen responded, ‘You have to find it out’,” the facts state.

“When asked whether he knew who lit the fire, he responded, ‘I am half a victim, so what do you want me, what do you expect me to say?’

“He denied lighting the fire or engaging another person to light the fire.”

Court documents state Chen had lodged a development application in 2021 to redevelop 60 Cliff Road “significantly” but it was refused in part due to the proposal having “an unacceptable impact” on the neighbouring heritage home. A review of the refusal was lodged in July 2022 and later granted with amendments.

The historic property at 62 Cliff Road was for 60 years the home of the late travel industry doyenne Mary Rossi until it was sold to the Chens, who already owned the 1980s-built house next door. If consolidated, the two waterfront estates would create a 7547-square metre parcel that would rank among the largest privately held estates on the lower north shore.

Nassif’s guilty plea comes after Lane Cove Council in February knocked back an application by the Chen family to demolish the burnt-out remains of the historic mansion.

The mansion was gutted by fire.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“Demolition of a heritage item, even a burnt-out item, should always be the last and final option,” said the summary of the council’s decision.

Further, the application lodged by Chen to demolish failed to offer any “clear road map … for how the site would evolve from this point on with regard to the heritage and future development potential”.

The facts tendered in Nassif’s case state the burnt home was not insured “and therefore no subsequent insurance claim has been made in relation to any loss or damage”.

The Crown unsuccessfully sought to have Nassif detained following his admission.

Arson charges were laid against Nassif and Bett following the fire.Credit:

Prosecutor Georgia Alexander said while the property was vacant at the time, the crime was committed in the evening when neighbours would have been home, and “that would arguably increase the risk to others”.

Nassif’s barrister accepted that his client will receive a custodial sentence but suggested it could be served by way of an intensive correction order (ICO) in the community including home detention.

He said offences of robbery or break-and-enter carried higher potential maximum jail terms.

“You can burn somebody’s house down but don’t steal their cow,” Dennis said.

The court heard Nassif has no criminal history and spent seven days in custody after his arrest.

Arguing for his client to remain on bail, Dennis said Nassif’s wife suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a panic disorder with agoraphobia following the police raid on their Blue Mountains home, and raised concerns over whether she could live alone.

Magistrate Miranda Moody refused the detention application, considering it appropriate for Nassif to remain on bail to undergo psychological testing, including for dementia, and awaiting further information about his wife’s condition.

“There is a possibility, a slim possibility, that he might get an ICO,” Moody said.

Nassif did not comment as he left court. His case returns on May 3. Bett, who is now 22 and in custody, pleaded guilty last year to the same charge and is due to be sentenced in the District Court on June 13.

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