During the eviction, a mother of two warned the sheriffs that “the owners are going to pay for this immediately.” A court heard her say, “I’ll f*** the property up,” just before setting her rental house on fire.
Elizabeth Mary Butt, 54, guilty to lighting the Kyle Bay property on fire in June when she appeared in Sutherland Local Court in Sydney’s southern suburbs on Tuesday.
Butt entered a guilty plea to two charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer and destroying property valued more than $15,000.
According to court records, Butt’s ex-husband started renting the three-bedroom, one-story house in 2007.
The organisation in charge of the residence learned that Mr. Butt had left the home and split from his wife in February 2022.
The owners of the house then made plans to evict his wife when she refused to pay the rent.
On June 2, two male sheriffs went to the residence to evict her and replace the locks.
When the sheriffs came, Butt opened the door, but when they announced that they were coming to evict her, she slammed it shut.
But after letting them inside and packing a few possessions, her two boys departed.
According to court records, their mother confronted the sheriffs two hours later after taking a five-liter can of gasoline from the garage.
The tin was thrown at them despite their request for her to put it down. Because its lid was left open, gasoline spilled right next to them.
Butt then said something to the effect of “the owners are going to pay for this now” while holding a lighter in her hand. I’ll screw the place up.
The guys fled the residence and summoned the emergency services out of concern for their safety in light of the threat.
Butt emerged from the garage as they did so, sending up a thick column of black smoke.
She said, “Now the landlords will know how much the property is worth,” as she went down the driveway.
As firemen extinguished the fire and determined it was started by a petrol can in the living room, police quickly came and arrested Butt.
When Butt came before Parramatta Local Court in June, bail was rejected.
She was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday, but magistrate Hugh Donnelly postponed it.
Before Butt is sentenced on October 4th, Mr. Donnelly ordered a sentencing assessment report to be completed, according to the Daily Telegraph.