By Tara Cosoleto
A ruthless killer has been jailed for 35 years after he set fire to an innocent man who was felling trees at a neighbouring property.
Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney described Stuart Lee’s crimes as “shocking and heartless” as he handed down a sentence on Thursday.
The property at Wheatsheaf where Colin Bainbridge was killed.Credit: Nine
“The pain and anguish you caused ... is incalculable,” the judge said.
Lee pleaded guilty to murdering Colin Bainbridge at a property in Wheatsheaf, near Daylesford in Victoria’s north-west, on March 14, 2023.
Bainbridge had been felling trees in his friend’s backyard when, without any instigation, Lee yelled at him to “f--- off”.
Bainbridge said the same thing in response, and Lee rushed off to call the police.
Bainbridge died in hospital from burns to 81 per cent of his body.Credit: Nine
After five calls went unanswered, Lee finally told an officer he would go and murder his neighbours if they did not come.
The 65-year-old then went into his shed, poured petrol from a jerry can into a blue bucket and grabbed a lighter from inside the house.
Lee went into the backyard, climbed a fence and poured the petrol over Bainbridge before setting him on fire. Bainbridge’s son Joshua, who was working nearby, rushed over and helped put out the flames with a hose.
He was flown to The Alfred with burns to 81 per cent of his body and died later that evening.
In sentencing, Tinney accepted Lee had a personality disorder, which made him inexplicably suspicious of his neighbours. But he rejected arguments from the defence that their client was genuinely frightened of Bainbridge, instead finding he acted only in anger.
“Your indignant anger overcame your clear understanding of the wrongfulness of your actions and you committed murder,” Tinney said.
Lee will be eligible for parole after 27 years.
AAP
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