Murder charges laid over fatal Illawarra fire

Updated

December 21, 2011 18:12:37


Katie Foreman, who died in a house fire in Corrimal.
Photo:
Katie Foreman died when her home was set alight in the early hours of October 27. (Image courtesy Greg Totman/Illawarra Mercury)

Four people have been charged with the murder of a 31-year-old lawyer who burnt to death in her Wollongong home.

Detectives allege Bernard Spicer, 30, and Michelle Proud, 27, were paid to set fire to the Doncaster Street home of Katie Foreman while she slept inside.

The criminal lawyer’s body was found in the burnt out remains of the house after the blaze in the early hours of October 27.

Police arrested two men and two women during simultaneous raids this morning on two Illawarra homes at Lake Heights and Woonona and a third house in the western Sydney suburb of Whalan.

Detective Superintendent Michael Willing says they believe a sum of money was paid for the fire to be lit.

“Detectives will allege that the fire was deliberately lit, that it was planned and that money was paid for the fire to occur,” he said.

Spicer and Proud have been refused bail in Mount Druitt Local Court.

A third person, Wendy Evans, 39, has faced a Wollongong court on a murder charge but did not apply for bail.

A 39-year-old man who has also been charged with murder will face court in Wollongong tomorrow.

Officers investigated reports by Ms Foreman of a prowler before her death, and neighbours reported hearing laughter on the street as the fire began.

Topics:
murder-and-manslaughter,
crime,
arson,
residential,
police,
corrimal-2518,
whalan-2770,
woonona-2517,
lake-heights-2502

First posted

December 21, 2011 09:18:02



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