Jail for 'callous' wife burning

A County Antrim man has been jailed for eight years for dousing his wife with lighter fuel and setting her on fire.

Jailing Michael Graham, of Harmony Lodge, Doagh, the judge told Belfast Crown Court he was "callous and cruel".

Elizabeth Graham suffered extensive burns to her left arm and chest when her husband came home drunk and attacked her in the bedroom last June.

While she was screaming with pain, Graham handed her their two-year-old daughter before leaving the house.

His Honour Judge Tom Burgess told him: "You couldn't have been deaf to the screams of agony she was in at the time."

A prosecution lawyer had told the court Graham came home from the pub at about 0030 BST on 24 June last year and woke his wife by verbally abusing her.

He told Mrs Graham he was going to set her on fire and after leaving the bedroom, he returned a short time later with a can of lighter fluid which he sprayed on her before setting her alight.

There are some people who may think the door of their matrimonial home in some way shields them from the consequences of their actions - but it won't His Honour Judge Tom Burgess

After Graham fled the house in his car, the prosecution lawyer said his wife "had to find the strength to phone her family and an ambulance."

The court heard that several hours after the incident, Graham was located asleep in his car on the Springvale Road in Burnside.

He initially denied being in the house and subsequent tests concluded he was over the legal drink-driving limit.

When arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, Graham told police he had spilled the lighter fluid on the duvet and set it alight by accident.

He later admitted the GBH charge and driving whilst under the influence of drink.

The prosecution lawyer said Mrs Graham had suffered "psychological trauma" and had to wear a permanent tubi-grip on her arm as her injuries are hypersensitive to hot and cold.

'Truly remorseful'

A defence lawyer said his client regretted his actions and was "truly remorseful", adding he had lost his wife, his home, his child and his job. He said the couple have not been in contact since the incident.

He said Graham was "not just drunk... but had been drinking to excess for some considerable period of time. He was clearly drunk, he was clearly in a rage and he lost control of himself."

Judge Burgess branded the attack as "truly terrible" and said that prior to the attack, Mrs Graham had suffered verbal abuse from her husband which had resulted in them separating for a period.

Praising Mrs Graham for her "resilience" and "courage", he said the eight-year sentence should be seen as a message that domestic violence would not be tolerated.

"There are some people who may think the door of their matrimonial home in some way shields them from the consequences of their actions - but it won't," he said.

In addition to the eight-year sentence, Graham was given a concurrent six-month sentence for drink-driving and will also spend a year on probation upon his release.