Anthony Regetas pleaded guilty to attempted arson
What started as a cruise romance ended in horror when a man plotted against his partner for months before dousing her and her bedroom in petrol, telling her he was ‘going to f**king kill’ her.
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A terrified Poona woman was forced to scream to her neighbours for help after her partner poured petrol in her bedroom and then on her as she crawled from her house.
Anthony Regetas, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of threatening violence, one count of attempted arson and two counts of common assault when he appeared before Maryborough District Court on Thursday.
In the lead-up to the offences, the relationship had turned sour after Regetas accused his partner of cheating on him when she went to visit her parents, although there was no evidence of that.
In the months before, he had received two eviction notices from his partner, as he was living at her home in Poona, a development he said left him “puzzled”.
The court heard the two had been together for 12 years after meeting on a cruise and he had moved in with her after having heart surgery.
It heard they had been involved in a near miss with another car, and Regatas had also had to deal with “rumours” being circulated about him.
He had been assaulted in the street, but it was unknown if the assault was tied to those rumours, the court was told.
It heard that on the morning of March 19, 2024, Regetas went into the 60-year-old woman’s bedroom and removed her phone and laptop.
He approached her and asked her to hold the two evictions notices, which she took.
He then began pouring petrol from a canister into her bedroom, splashing it on her pajamas.
He told her to get the dogs out because he was going to burn the house down.
The woman tried to take the canister from him, the court heard, but she couldn’t.
Regetas shoved her into a wine rack, but she got up and continued to fight back.
He yelled at her “get the dogs out, I’m going to f**king kill you”.
She feared for her life, and believed he was going to kill her, the court was told.
Regetas again shoved her, and she fell backwards onto a chair.
She was able to knock the canister out of his hands before crawling out of the house and screaming for help.
A neighbour who was walking her dog heard her screams and saw Regetas throw the woman to the ground and pour petrol on her.
She heard him say “you started this and I’m going to f**king finish it”.
As the woman cowered, the neighbour saw Regetas holding the petrol canister and she started screaming for help, the court heard.
“This must have been a terrifying ordeal for the victim,” Judge Anthony Rafter said.
At one stage Regetas was seen coming out of the shed carrying a box of matches and a passer-by had to physically stop him from going back into the home, the court heard.
Police arrived and Regetas later admitted he had planned the incident and was just waiting for the woman to get out of bed that morning.
He said it had been “going through” his head for two months before it happened.
Regetas said he had a gas lighter and he was “f**king going to burn everything, thank God I didn’t”.
When police went to the home they found a jerry can in the bedroom’s walk-in robe and a flat tyre on the woman’s car.
The court heard she had several injuries, including bruising to her left arm and elbow, a scratch to her left forearm, swelling to her right ear, bruising to her buttocks and thigh and a large scratch on her back.
Judge Rafter said Regetas had spent 324 days in presentence custody ahead of sentencing and had written the woman a letter of apology.
He said despite the stress Regetas was facing prior to the that day, what he did could not be excused or justified.
During his time in custody, Regetas had worked in the kitchen and laundry.
He had been hospitalised six times and Judge Rafter said he accepted his time in jail was more difficult than others in prison because of his health issues.
Regetas was given a head sentence of four years in prison, with a parole eligibility date set for July 18, 2025.
Convictions were recorded.
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