Ricky David Barwell pleaded guilty, threw petrol on ex and neighbor
'I'm going to light you up and kill you,' says man who poured gasoline on his ex-girlfriend and a neighbor.
A court learned that a father-of-three who poured gasoline on his ex-partner and tried to 'light her up' did so to scare her away.
After throwing petrol on his ex-partner and threatening to set her on fire, a South Australian man was spared jail time.
After a "extremely dangerous" incident in January 2020, Ricky David Barwell pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated threatening life.
According to sentencing remarks, his five-and-a-half-year relationship with his de facto wife ended in May 2019, but the two continued to live together for a period for the sake of their two children.
In addition, Barwell fathered a third child with a Thai woman, who now lives with the mother.
The victim told Barwell she intended to move out when their lease expired on January 20th, according to the Adelaide District Court.
On January 14, when she started to remove larger objects from the building, the two got into an altercation, resulting in the presence of police.
The victim returned to the property later that day, hoping Barwell was not there, but could feel him pushing against the front door, according to Judge Geraldine Davison.
The incident later escalated, according to the court, when Barwell lunged at the victim and a neighbor who were standing at the bottom of the driveway.
He poured the contents of the red plastic five-litre petrol bottle on top of his ex's head and onto the neighbor.
According to the remarks, Barwell then poured the remaining petrol onto the victim's car's windshield, yelling "sucked in b***h, f**k you."
“She was wailing. The petrol was burning her skin and eyes, and it was excruciatingly painful,” Judge Davison said.
Barwell then allegedly flicked a cigarette lighter four or five times, according to the prosecution.
“(The woman) was frightened because she thought she was going to be set on fire, and she kept yelling at you to stop and that you were scaring her.
“F**k off, b***h, I'm going to light you up and kill you,” you yelled at her.
Barwell's actions, according to Judge Davison, had a "major effect" on the woman, whose anxiety was now caused by the scent of gasoline.
“She wasn't expecting you to become so combative.”
Of course, she was worried because of a case in Queensland in which a woman and her children were burned in their car.
“Things like that elicit strong feelings in her, and she is grateful that your children were not there to see the incident.”
Judge Davison cited a psychologist study as evidence that Barwell threw the gasoline in an effort to drive his ex-girlfriend and neighbor out of the building, but that he did not remember flicking the lighter.
She claimed that after being released from prison, the man had "responded positively" and had made strides in the community.
Barwell received a three-year and three-month term in home confinement, including a 22-month non-parole period.