Achi news desk-
After threatening a man on crutches because of a debt, Nicholas James Wilson doused him with methylated spirits and set him on fire, a court has been told.
Wilson is no longer facing a charge of attempted murder but will remain behind bars after being refused bail during the alleged April 2022 attack in Brisbane.
The 43-year-old is accused of breaking into the man’s Woolloongabba unit before extinguishing it with the flammable liquid from about three feet away.
Wilson was standing or leaning forward in a way to close the gap between the men before igniting a gas lighter belonging to the man, who lives with a disability, the Crown alleges.
The device had “extraordinary capabilities” although there was no evidence Wilson knew it could shoot flames up to a foot and a half, as the injured man told police, Acting Justice Ann Lyons said in denying bail on Thursday.
“We’re not talking about a cigarette lighter.”
Justice Lyons said it would appear that Wilson had told the man, who suffered significant burns, to have a shower once he was on fire.
It was accepted that Wilson had caused harm to the plaintiff by burning him, and the issue in the trial was whether the actions were intentional, the Brisbane Supreme Court was told.
“It is clear that the allegation is that the applicant intended, and then proceeded, to set the plaintiff on fire in relation to a relatively small debt,” said Justice Lyons.
The Crown claims that Wilson threatened to burn the man in phone conversations before going to the house with the liquid.
In refusing Wilson bail, Justice Lyons said he was not satisfied that proposed bail conditions would be sufficient or that there was a risk that Wilson would spend too much time in custody.
Wilson’s five-page criminal history in Queensland included bail and parole breaches but no previous acts of violence.
Wilson was charged with attempted murder when he was arrested two days after the alleged attack but was successful in a ‘no case to answer’ submission on that charge during an earlier trial.
He has been committed to stand trial on one count each of acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, entering a dwelling with intent in company and extortion.
Wilson has been in custody since April 2022, with his trial in the Brisbane District Court at a date yet to be determined.
