A 36-year-old man found sleeping in his car has been charged with murder after allegedly setting his father on fire and killing him at a home in Sydney’s west.
Emergency services were called to the house on Wargon Crescent, Glenmore Park, about 12.50am on Thursday, after neighbours reported a fire outside the property.
A crime scene was set up at the Glenmore Park home. 9News
Police officers found the body of a man on the driveway of a partially alight property.
Nepean Police Area Commander Superintendent Trent King said the dead father, believed to be 64, was yet to be formally identified after sustaining “numerous injuries, including significant burns”.
“I can say that accelerant appears to have been used during the course of the incident,” King said.
Police allege the man’s son, who is known to police, carried out the attack after forcing his way into the home in the middle of the night.
“These people appear to be related. However, there’s no history of domestic violence between the two parties,” King said.
The father lived at the property, while his son did not.
“There appears to have been an altercation there between the two parties following a break-and-enter into the premises; the front door was forced,” King said.
Firefighters who arrived on the scene put out the fire.
The father’s body was found in the driveway of the home. 9News
Several hours later, about 6.45am, police arrested the son after he was found sleeping in his car at a sporting complex on Parkes Avenue in Werrington.
Detectives tracked him down after tracing signals bouncing from nearby mobile towers to pinpoint his exact location about 14 kilometres from the crime scene.
He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for minor injuries to his hands and feet before he was taken to Nepean Hospital under police guard.
Early on Friday morning, police said he’d been charged with domestic violence murder.
A neighbour, speaking to 9News, called the incident “horrific”.
Police have set up a strike force to investigate the suspicious death.
An autopsy is set to determine whether the father died before the fire or because of it.
Detectives are appealing for anyone with information or CCTV or dashcam footage to contact Nepean Police Area Command or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).