A son watched as his father was covered in petrol and burned alive by a neighbour after an argument over trees.
Joshua Bainbridge had been chopping down greenery alongside his dad Colin at a property in Wheatsheaf, 100km northwest of Melbourne, when he heard shouting on March 14, 2023.
Responding to the yelling, he raced over to his 66-year-old father Colin and saw neighbour Stuart Lee, 65, dousing him with petrol before setting him on fire.
Lee proceeded to head into his shed where he decanted petrol from a jerry can into a bucket, before retrieving a lighter from the property.
Following this, he went into his garden where he climbed over a fence and covered Mr Bainbridge in petrol and then set him alight.
Mr Bainbridge’s son, Joshua, raced over in an attempt to help his father and called an ambulance for assistance.
Mr Bainbridge told Victorian Supreme Court: ‘Seeing my father ignite and scream as he was burned alive is a memory that will never leave my mind.’
The court heard Colin Bainbridge had been clearing trees in a friend’s garden, when without provocation, Lee shouted at him to ‘f**k off’.
When Mr Bainbridge responded with the same phrase, Lee quickly phoned the police, however all five of his calls to the station at nearby Daylesford were not answered.
On the final call, Lee was diverted to Bacchus Marsh Police who instructed him to phone triple zero if he needed immediate help.
Lee had also contacted emergency services, claiming he had poured petrol over his neighbour in a bid to defend himself.
Mr Bainbridge was transported to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne via an aircraft, suffering burns to 81 per cent of his body. He died later that evening.
Lee has since pleaded guilty to the murder of 66-year-old Colin Bainbridge.
