Pair jailed for ‘horrific’ petrol fire death

 

“I struggle to understand how anybody could treat another human being in this way,” a woman told two offenders who admitted pouring petrol over her ex-husband and burning him to death.

Michelle Smith, former wife of Terrance Martin Smith, told the High Court at Christchurch that she wished the two offenders – who admitted manslaughter charges – had sat at his bedside in the last two weeks of his life in Middlemore Hospital’s burns unit.

The family kept up a bedside vigil during Mr Smith’s “horrific death” she said directly to Shay Barry Webster, 22, and Jason Alistor Barr, 44, as they sat in the dock.

The two were originally charged with murdering Mr Smith but after agreement with the Crown, they were allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter charges on October 15.

Justice Cameron Mander said the pair had been equally a part of highly dangerous conduct, even though he accepted they did not intend Mr Smith’s death. He took into account the agonising death that Mr Smith had suffered. He said the situation amounted to a threat to use a deadly weapon, and jailed the Barr for five years seven months, and Webster for five years three months. He imposed minimum non-parole terms on both.

Several family members read statements to the court, speaking of their loss and grief over the death of 55-year-old Mr Smith.

Crown prosecutor Sara Jamieson gave the account of the incident to the court for the first time, disclosing that it arose from an incorrect allegation that the victim was a paedophile. The allegation arose from a claim that he had commented that a 13-year-old girl was “hot”.

After drinking heavily, the two confronted Mr Smith in a bedroom at the house in Sullivan Avenue, Christchurch. Barr accepted that he had poured petrol over him. Webster accepted that he struck the lighter knowing that Barr had poured the petrol.

A gathering at the property had largely ended when the incident occurred on April 25, 2013. A witness returned to the house and noticed a strong smell of petrol. Mr Smith was in a bedroom where Barr was holding a petrol can and arguing with him. He accused Smith of being a paedophile and said, “You are lucky I don’t set you on fire.”

Webster was holding a lighter, which he flicked twice about 30cm from Mr Smith. The witness said Barr looked shocked when the fumes caught fire on the second flick. He had not told Webster to do anything.

The Crown accepted that Barr had helped to put out the fire with an extinguisher. Mr Smith had made one of the two 111 calls. When he was spoken to by a detective in hospital, he said: “Jason poured petrol over me and Shay lit me up.” Mr Smith was then intubated and could not speak, was put into an induced coma, and never regained consciousness before his death in Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, on May 8. He suffered burns to 29 percent of his body, and a severe lung injury.

Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh said there was a strong element of vigilantism in the offending. The pair said they only intended to scare and not to punish Mr Smith, but the Crown said it was an act of retribution against a perceived paedophile – wrongly accused as it turned out.

He said the murder charge had not been proceeded with because it was accepted there were difficulties in proving murderous intent. But it was not a prank that went horribly wrong, but a result of a violent confrontation fuelled by alcohol and anger.

He said both men should face increased sentences because of their criminal records. Barr had convictions for firearms offences, assaults, and offences relating to alcohol and illegal drugs. At the age of 22, Webster had amassed 58 previous convictions.

Webster’s defence counsel Serina Bailey said the incident arose from an alcohol-driven reckless episode that resulted in a distressing, unintended tragedy. The psychological report indicated that Webster had only borderline cognitive ability. His 20 months in custody had been the longest period without alcohol drugs since he was aged 12. He was undertaking courses in prison.

Barr’s defence counsel Kirsten Gray said her client expressed his genuine remorse for the pain he had caused to the victims. She said it had not been a planned and sinister vigilante attack, but a spur of the moment situation that arose after he had consumed large quantities of drugs and alcohol. Premeditation was not accepted.

Barr’s father was involved in one of the most high-profile crimes of the 1980s.

Armed with a pistol and a sawn-off shotgun, Alistair Barr and Gibson Grace held up the BNZ in Lumsden on St Patrick’s Day in 1983 and made off on a motorcycle with more than $106,000. It is believed to be the largest bank heist in New Zealand history.

Alistair Barr and one of his friends, Richard Morgan, later murdered Grace who was spending a lot of money and talking about the robbery rather than keeping a low profile.

 

 

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