
In a heartrending episode, a man made good on his threat to destroy his family’s home by arson, putting a $550,000 price tag on family discord. He had explicitly warned his sibling to alert their mother, ‘The house will be on fire when she gets back’, as an act of retaliation for not granting him the house keys.
The calamity unfolded when the mother of Quentin Kerehi Beverley Smyth returned to their residence on Lyon St, Hamilton, in the still-dark morning hours of December 13 of the previous year. She found her home ablaze, the earlier threats of her son seeming all the more real amidst the flickering flames that resulted from inflammable substances he had intentionally spread around the kitchen and corridor.
The family home, bearing an estimated market value in the ballpark of $575,000 to $665,000, bore the brunt of the fire extensively. The damage was so severe that it was ultimately designated as unfit for habitation.
In response to these disastrous events, the legal machinery swung into action, the Hamilton District Court bringing down its gavel to issue a restraining order against Smyth for safeguarding his mother. He had appeared in court to answer an accusation of arson.
The day preceding this devastating incident, Smyth had been consuming alcohol with friends at a house in Te Rapa. Tensions escalated into a physical altercation with another individual. When his mother called him late at night to offer him a ride home, she was met with aggressive retorts from him, rounded off with a menacing threat to not just burn the house down but also to kill her.
Fearing the worst, his mother rushed to evacuate every occupant from the house, taking refuge in a vehicle along with them. Not long after, Smyth reached the property and engaged in a physical tussle with his brother. As their mother evacuated his brother to their father’s house, Smyth enquired about the house keys. When his mother denied him the keys, he left a visceral warning, “Tell Mum the house will be on fire when she gets back.” Upon their return, the house was indeed afire.
Smyth was subsequently placed under arrest; however, he denied any involvement in the arson or in uttering death threats to his mother. The homeowners, living in Australia and renting out the property, were compensated by the insurance company with a sum of $551,000 – this sum did not cover one essential remaining task: the demolition and removal of the charred structure. The absence of contents insurance left Smyth’s family bereft of almost all their possessions.
Kerry Hadaway, counsel for Smyth, outlined his client’s remorse over the tragic series of events. They had hoped for a restorative justice meeting, but it could not take place even though both parties were willing. Instead, they presented a letter of apology Smyth had written to his mother. In it, he expressed his deep regret and earnest wishes for reconciliation and forgiveness.
When laying down the sentence, Judge Marshall considered Smyth’s remorse, the admission of guilt, past good behavior, and his medical diagnosis of an intellectual disability while deciding on the penalty. Smyth was also ready to make a reparation payment of up to $10,000 upon release from prison. Accepting these factors, Judge Marshall offered a sentencing reduction of 55 percent from the initial four-year and six-month prison term.
Noting the regrettable situation that warranted imprisonment, Judge Marshall sentenced Smyth to two years in prison with an order to make a reparation payment of $8,000 to the homeowners within 28 days of his release. He also consented to the mother’s request for a protective order against Smyth.