An Australian man has pleaded guilty to murdering his neighbor by setting him on fire during a shocking tree-trimming dispute that unfolded in front of the victim's son.
The deadly confrontation unfolded in the rural Australian town of Wheatsheaf, Victoria, where tensions had simmered between 65-year-old Stuart Lee and his neighbors, Colin Bainbridge, 66, and his son Joshua, the Irish Mirror reported.
The dispute was triggered by the trimming of trees on a neighboring property, which Lee viewed as an intrusion. When verbal warnings and multiple failed attempts to contact police didn't resolve the situation, Lee's frustration escalated.
While Joshua Bainbridge was trimming trees, Lee demanded he leave the area. After a heated exchange, Lee stormed off, made several unsuccessful calls to the local police station, and reportedly eventually told an officer he would kill his neighbors if no one intervened.
Lee then fetched a bucket of petrol and a lighter, jumped a fence, and doused Colin Bainbridge before setting him alight. Joshua raced to help but was unable to save his father, who later died in hospital with burns covering 81% of his body.
Lee confessed to the killing, initially claiming it was in self-defense. He has since pleaded guilty to murder. During court proceedings at the Victorian Supreme Court, a psychiatrist testified that Lee suffers from a personality disorder with paranoid traits, but was not psychotic or legally insane at the time.
Colin's son, who witnessed the horrifying act, shared a heartbreaking victim impact statement detailing the psychological trauma he continues to endure.
Judge Andrew Tinney is currently considering a life sentence for Lee.
