The court heard that firefighters arrived at about 11pm to find the house entirely alight. An ignitable liquid had been poured inside. The blaze destroyed the home and killed the victim's pets. No people were present.
Police linked Kerfoot to the arson through CCTV footage of a figure entering the property before flames erupted, and DNA from hairs found in a beanie abandoned in a nearby tree.
At the time of the attack, Kerfoot was serving a community corrections order for being armed with a weapon to destroy property, and had previously been on a conditional release order for stalking. The court was told he had threatened to damage the victim's property and take his own life before the fire.
Sentencing in the Downing Centre District Court, Judge Newlinds described the offending as “extremely serious” but said it occurred against the backdrop of an “utterly dysfunctional” relationship. He said the offences were “fuelled by intense wounded emotion, grievance, immaturity, and his inability to manage himself effectively, poor problem-solving, and amplified by alcohol use.” He called it “classically a crime of passion, committed whilst the offender was in a rage state, consequent on his mental health issues.”
The severity of the fire risked harm to nearby homes, the court heard.