A woman has been charged with murder and arson over a house fire that killed a “young, happy” couple and their newborn baby in Melbourne, Australia.
Abbey Forrest, 19, her partner Inderpal Sohal, 28, also known as Indi, and their three-week-old daughter Ivy were found dead in their Point Cook townhouse after it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Arson and Explosives Squad detectives charged a woman 46-year-old woman with murder and arson causing death after she was arrested by detectives in Airport West Thursday morning.
She has been charged with three counts each of murder and arson causing death.
Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter.
The matter will be heard at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Thursday night.
“It is believed the woman was known to the one of the occupants of the property,” police said in a statement on Thursday.
“Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter.”
Heroic neighbours desperately tried to break an upstairs window with an axe to free the young family but they were forced back by the ferocity of the blaze, which destroyed the house in a matter of minutes.
Ms Bartolo said it was “horrifying” to see the couple unable to escape.
“It was pretty sad to see and hear them trying to get help and we couldn’t get them down. We did the best we could,” she said.
“They were saying ‘help, help’. That’s all I can hear in my head right now, just them screaming for help. I can’t forget it.
“They were responding at the start for like the first two minutes and then it was just black, the whole room. It was pretty terrifying.
“I’ve never seen anything happen that fast and go through nearly three houses.”
Ms Bartolo said the window was secured by a chain and couldn’t be opened wide enough for a person to get out.
She said firefighters arrived five minutes later.
Ms Bartolo said there was no way the family could have escaped through the front if the fire was at the bottom of the house.
She said her house was almost an exact replica of the one that burnt down and she was now “terrified to stay there”.
“I’ve already been looking for other properties, potentially; we’re only here until February,” Ms Bartolo said.
“It scares the s*** out of me, knowing they were desperate and you can’t get out. They had nowhere to go. There’s only four windows upstairs. I have my own house and live upstairs myself.”
Another neighbour, Kirra Haeata, said she saw someone from the house receiving an Uber Eats delivery about an hour before the fire started.
“I finished work at 1am and I ordered Uber Eats and they were standing out the front waiting for their Uber Eats as well,” she said.
“I went to sleep and then the next thing I know was the neighbour screaming to wake me up. You couldn’t see anywhere; it was like grey everywhere. Everyone was choking on smoke and their eyes were burning.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Kennedy said the fire was being treated as suspicious due to its intensity when firefighters arrived, with the blaze raging at the front and upstairs.
“With accidental fires that doesn’t really occur,” he said.
“I’m sure with our arson chemist and forensic experts, we have a large team here, I’m hopeful that we’ll get those answers.”
The house remained cordoned off by police tape on Thursday and a few bunches of flowers had been laid out the front.
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Abbey Forrest, 19, her partner Inderpal Sohal, 28, also known as Indi, and their three-week-old daughter Ivy were found dead in their Point Cook townhouse after it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Arson and Explosives Squad detectives charged a woman 46-year-old woman with murder and arson causing death after she was arrested by detectives in Airport West Thursday morning.
She has been charged with three counts each of murder and arson causing death.
Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter.
The matter will be heard at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Thursday night.
“It is believed the woman was known to the one of the occupants of the property,” police said in a statement on Thursday.
“Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter.”
Heroic neighbours desperately tried to break an upstairs window with an axe to free the young family but they were forced back by the ferocity of the blaze, which destroyed the house in a matter of minutes.
Ms Bartolo said it was “horrifying” to see the couple unable to escape.
“It was pretty sad to see and hear them trying to get help and we couldn’t get them down. We did the best we could,” she said.
“They were saying ‘help, help’. That’s all I can hear in my head right now, just them screaming for help. I can’t forget it.
“They were responding at the start for like the first two minutes and then it was just black, the whole room. It was pretty terrifying.
“I’ve never seen anything happen that fast and go through nearly three houses.”
Ms Bartolo said the window was secured by a chain and couldn’t be opened wide enough for a person to get out.
She said firefighters arrived five minutes later.
Ms Bartolo said there was no way the family could have escaped through the front if the fire was at the bottom of the house.
She said her house was almost an exact replica of the one that burnt down and she was now “terrified to stay there”.
“I’ve already been looking for other properties, potentially; we’re only here until February,” Ms Bartolo said.
“It scares the s*** out of me, knowing they were desperate and you can’t get out. They had nowhere to go. There’s only four windows upstairs. I have my own house and live upstairs myself.”
Another neighbour, Kirra Haeata, said she saw someone from the house receiving an Uber Eats delivery about an hour before the fire started.
“I finished work at 1am and I ordered Uber Eats and they were standing out the front waiting for their Uber Eats as well,” she said.
“I went to sleep and then the next thing I know was the neighbour screaming to wake me up. You couldn’t see anywhere; it was like grey everywhere. Everyone was choking on smoke and their eyes were burning.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Kennedy said the fire was being treated as suspicious due to its intensity when firefighters arrived, with the blaze raging at the front and upstairs.
“With accidental fires that doesn’t really occur,” he said.
“I’m sure with our arson chemist and forensic experts, we have a large team here, I’m hopeful that we’ll get those answers.”
The house remained cordoned off by police tape on Thursday and a few bunches of flowers had been laid out the front.
Woman charged after family with newborn killed in Melbourne fire
A woman has been charged with murder and arson over a house fire that killed a “young, happy” couple and their newborn baby in Melbourne.
www.news.com.au
