Drunk truck driver set partner alight in shocking domestic violence case

AN Austins Ferry man who set his partner on fire could offer no explanation for committing the shocking case of domestic violence.

Scales of Justice

AN Austins Ferry man who set his partner on fire could offer no explanation for committing one of the most shocking cases of domestic violence to come before Tasmanian courts in recent years.

The Supreme Court heard truck driver Michael John Price, 45, was drunk when he doused his partner with petrol and set her alight during an argument in June last year — leaving her with horrific burns.

In a victim impact statement, his former partner said Price’s act of impulsive violence had left her with a life sentence of disfigurement, pain and trauma — as well as being homeless and unable to work.

She described the feeling of defeat during the moment of being set alight.

“I actually felt the will to live drain from me. I had given up.”

Price admitted committing an unlawful act intended to cause grievous bodily harm and three counts of assault.

Crown Prosecutor Linda Mason told the court Price’s ultimate act of violence came after a series of attacks in which the victim was punched, choked, knocked to the ground and had her wrist broken.

She was making plans to leave him when, on June 17 last year, the couple had an argument in the garage of the home they shared, the court heard.

Price, who was drunk, said: “I’m going to pour petrol over you and light you.” The woman replied: “Don’t be stupid.”

He held up a five-litre petrol container and doused her. Then he flicked his lighter and the woman was engulfed in flames.

In her victim impact statement read out in court, the woman described how she will be forever haunted by images of her body on fire, of her skin and flesh falling from her body and her clothes melting away.

“When he set me on fire I was totally emotionally defeated,” she said.

“I will never forget the searing pain of the burns.”

The prosecutor said Price then dropped the container, spilling more petrol which caused burns to the woman’s legs.

Hearing her screams, a family member came to her aid and called police. Price extinguished the fire and walked from the house.

He was arrested nearby. “I f---ed up real bad,” he told officers.

His victim was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital where she was put in an induced coma for 12 days with burns to 25 per cent of her body and at risk of complications which could have caused her death.

The court heard that six weeks after the incident and despite the existence of a family violence order prohibiting any contact, Price sent the woman a balloon and a card with the words “thinking of you lots” which caused her further trauma.

The woman said due to her injuries, she felt like she was serving a life sentence, trapped in a body that no longer feels her own and facing further surgery and a lifetime dealing with the pain, scarring and psychological impact from the crimes.

She said she wanted the court to send a message that such violence against women would not be tolerated.

“I am devastated but also furious. I can’t believe that this offender thought he had the right to bring such trauma to my family,” she said.

“When he set me on fire he also made me homeless and unable to work to pay rent. He really has wrecked my life.”

Price’s defence lawyer Gregory Faulds told the court his client was drinking between 14 and 24 cans of beer a day at the time and did not recall much of any of the offences but accepted he had committed them and was remorseful.

He said Price could not understand why he set his partner on fire and was shocked at the severity of his victim’s injuries.

Justice David Porter will sentence Price on April 7.