Ex-counter terror cop told police he was going through 'a very horrible divorce' moments before dying in fatal house fire, inquest hears
Malcolm Baker, 60, an ex-Met Police detective superintendent, died in the blaze which started shortly after uniformed officers arrived at his home in Somerset on the evening of September 14, 2022, following a call from his wife.
Mr Baker had locked himself in his bedroom and dragged heavy oak furniture in front of the door at his home in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton, after a confrontation with his wife Francesca Onody.
The couple had been married nearly 20 years and had two children together but were in the process of divorcing.
Police had been called several times that summer by Ms Onody because of allegations she made against him of domestic abuse and financial fraud.
The inquest in Wells, Somerset had heard his family were concerned about his heavy drinking and mental health, and he had also begun storing petrol canisters at the property.
Body worn video camera footage from one of the officers who attended the property was played to the court which recorded Mr Baker's replies to the questions he was being asked.
The Avon and Somerset officer explained he knew Mr Baker was a former Met detective and told him he had the power to force entry to carry out a welfare check.
Mr Baker replied: 'You don't need to force entry, I am fine. I am going through a very horrible divorce - it's a civil matter, not criminal.
'I don't need any help, I just need to work this through with my solicitor.
'I don't need any police involvement, I am perfectly fine. It's a civil matter, not a criminal matter.
'My wife is being horrible, I don't need any help, I am fine. My wife is doing this tactically to ruin me.'
Asked if he had anything inside his room to harm himself, he replied: 'No I am fine. I don't need the police, you have far better things to do.
'My wife is escalating this to make it difficult for me.'
It was shortly after the officer went back downstairs to speak with colleagues that they realised petrol was coming through the ceiling into the lounge and evacuated the house.
A fire then started, which destroyed the cottage and claimed the life of Mr Baker.
Limited remains of his body were recovered, and it was not possible to establish a cause of death.
John Donovan, a fire investigation manager with the Devon and Somerset Fire Service, said the blaze had started on the ground floor of the property and was likely caused by petrol fumes being ignited by electrical items.
He said a television, computer and a snake terrarium were recovered but were too badly damaged to determine if they were the cause.
'On viewing the body-worn camera footage it clearly showed that there was some sort of deflagration on the ground floor of the property where you can see that the window frames have been forced out as a result of a shockwave from inside,' he said.
'We had evidence that ignitable liquid had been poured from the first-floor bedroom and that was evident that it was coming through the floor into the ground floor.
'There is a gap of about five minutes for those vapours to build up on the ground floor.
'As a result of those vapours building up they would just need to come into contact with an ignition source.
'There were a number of electrical items in there that had the potential to be that ignition source.
'The vapours would have ignited then causing a deflagration, and as a result of that deflagration it seeks out the sort of areas in a structure which are not as strong, and we see that the deflagration has gone through the windows.
'That supports that the fire has originated from the ground floor.'
The officer ruled out Mr Baker starting the fire himself as he was locked in his upstairs bedroom, or the involvement of anyone else as they would have injured by the immediate ignition of the petrol.
Mr Donovan added: 'If someone else had gone in there to ignite the vapours they would have been caught up in that deflagration, being seriously injured as a result.
'I can see no evidence to suggest that anybody else would have gone in there and done that.
'On the balance of probabilities, it would be my opinion that it was an electrical item within the ground floor, but due to level of fire destruction inside I can't categorically say which electrical item.'
The inquest before a jury was adjourned until Thursday.
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