Father 'weird' after son's fatal burns in house fire, coroner told

Monday, 9 February 2026 16:23

The father of a young boy was weirdly silent and disengaged as his child screamed in pain from a house fire, a coroner has heard.

The pre-school-aged boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, died in hospital after being airlifted by helicopter from a rural property in southeast Queensland in 2017.

Police investigated the fire as suspicious but no charges were laid, counsel assisting Kate Juhasz told coroner Megan Fairweather during the start of an inquest into the death on Monday in Brisbane.

Two police officers who were first on scene about 8pm and tried to speak to the father gave evidence to the inquest.

Sergeant Peter Rumford said he found the father in the bathroom of the property's main house after seeing blood on the patio and hearing children wailing.

"He didn't provide me with any information," he said.

"I found it weird or peculiar that while his two sons were screaming and wailing he was standing in the shower with a cigarette in his hand."

The father and the boy's younger brother also suffered burns during the fire in a dwelling about 150 metres behind the property's main residence.

The two boys were seriously burned and were sitting on a sofa while wrapped in sheets or towels but their father had lesser injuries, Fairweather heard.

One or both of the boys were making a sound like he'd never heard before, Rumford said, adding they were "unrecognisable" due to their injuries.

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Senior Constable Andrew Bell testified he recorded audio and video during his time at the fire scene using a non-police issue body camera.

The father said "I don't remember anything. I just woke up and the house was on fire," Bell said.

"He told me his (ex-partner) was probably responsible ... if police had to point the finger at anyone."

The father had a minimum level of interaction with his injured children, Bell said.

"I don't recall anything a father would normally do, interacting with them or calming them or giving them any reassurances.

"He was essentially disconnected from them. There essentially wasn't any connection I would expect or having concern for them."

Bell said he could not recall the father asking him about the health of the boys in the minutes before an ambulance arrived.

One of the people who lived in the main house said they smelled smoke and heard a loud bang before looking outside to see the second dwelling on fire, Rumford said.

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