Simon James Purcell pleads guilty to arson in Cairns District Court

A man whose jaw was broken by a woman who attacked him with an iron bar responded by burning her house down – leaving the Department of Housing with a $148,000 bill just to demolish the destroyed premises.

A man whose jaw was broken by a woman who attacked him with an iron bar responded by burning her house down – leaving the Department of Housing with a $148,000 bill just to demolish the destroyed premises.

Simon James Purcell, 56, pleaded guilty to arson in Cairns District Court on Monday.

Prosecutor Nicholas Anderson told the court the arson was premeditated and he took petrol into the house and set the living room alight.

Simon James Purcell pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court to arson, after setting fire to a woman’s Department of Housing home in a blaze which destroyed it. Picture: File photo

He said the cost to demolish the state-owned home was $148,000 and the woman lost all her personal effects.

The court heard the woman hit Purcell with an iron bar, breaking his jaw, before attempting to leave but he sat on the car bonnet to stop her.

Mr Anderson said while the woman was not in the house when it was set alight, there was a risk of the fire spreading to other homes.

Police were called to the property on Elizabeth Street at Flying Fish Point at 5.55am on April 9, 2023.

Defence barrister Greg Sheridan said Purcell’s 407 days in pre-sentence custody had been salutary and difficult and he had to undergo jaw surgery.

He pointed out Purcell’s extended family were present in court.

The court heard it would cost $148,000 just to demolish the house. Picture: File photo

Purcell was educated to Year 6, and worked on farms for a decade but injured his back badly when a chainsaw kicked back on him and he fell down an embankment, at which time his alcohol and drug use escalated, Mr Sheridan said.

Judge Dean Morzone KC sentenced Purcell to four and half years in prison, with a parole date of July 3, 2024.

Originally published as Simon James Purcell pleads guilty to arson in Cairns District Court