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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
'Unclear' if former detective intended to kill himself in fire
It cannot be determined whether a former detective superintendent intended to die in a fire that engulfed his home, an inquest has Baker, 60, died in the fire at his detached thatched cottage in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton, Somerset, on the evening of 14 September at Somerset Coroner's Court, the hearing was told how Mr Baker, who had been stockpiling fuel around the house, locked himself in his bedroom after a confrontation with his inquest jury said while it could not be sure of Mr Baker's intent, the explosion and fire was a result of an "intentional or reckless act". The jury was told police had arrived to arrest Mr Baker in connection with a domestic dispute, but he refused to open his bedroom door, and officers left the house when they started to smell fire and an explosion later consumed the house and Mr Baker died as a result."It cannot be determined whether he intended to die when he did," the jury added. Mr Baker retired from the Met Police in 2011 and moved to Somerset with his family, where he ran a security consultancy with his wife, Francesca couple, who had been married for nearly 20 years, had two children together and were in the process of divorcing at the time of his hearing was told how police had been called several times in the months leading up to the fire after allegations of domestic abuse and financial fraud against Mr Baker by Ms Onody said he became "very angry" when he found out she wanted a divorce, and she had grown concerned about his mental health and heavy drinking. Fire investigators found the fire had started on the ground floor of the property and was likely to have been caused by petrol fumes being ignited by electrical Donovan, from the Devon and Somerset Fire Service, ruled out Mr Baker starting the fire himself as he was locked in his upstairs also said it could not have been started by anyone else as they would have been injured by the immediate ignition of the petrol."On the balance of probabilities, it would be my opinion that it was an electrical item within the ground floor, but due to the level of fire destruction inside I can't categorically say which electrical item," he Baker's cause of death was given as "unascertained".
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Ex-counter terror cop told police he was going through 'a very horrible divorce' moments before dying in fatal house fire, inquest hears
A retired counter terror cop told police he was going through 'a very horrible divorce' and accused his wife of trying to 'ruin' him just moments before he died in a fatal house fire, an inquest has heard. 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.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
Ex-Met detective ‘died in fire after police arrived to arrest him'
A former Metropolitan Police detective died in a house fire which was started shortly after officers arrived at his home to arrest him, an inquest heard. Malcolm Baker, 60, had locked himself in his bedroom after a confrontation with his wife. When officers went upstairs to speak to him they smelt petrol, which was pouring through the ceiling into the lounge, and evacuated the house. The thatched cottage caught fire and was destroyed in the blaze on the evening of Sept 14, 2022 in Brompton Regis near Dulverton, Somerset. Baker retired from the Met in 2011 and moved to Somerset, where he ran a security consultancy with his wife. Somerset Coroner's Court heard police had been called several times that summer by Francesca Onody, Baker's wife, after she made allegations of domestic abuse and financial fraud. The couple had been married nearly 20 years and had two children together but were in the process of divorcing. Ms Onody said he became 'very angry' when he found out she wanted a divorce. She said she had concerns about Baker's mental health and heavy drinking, but he never sought medical help because he did not want to compromise his security vetting. Ms Onody said she spoke to a police officer about her husband. Dead rabbit on bed 'I highlighted to him that Malcolm's behaviour was getting quite strange and more threatening, and I was really worried about Malcolm's mental health,' she said. 'On one occasion Malcolm left a dead rabbit in my bed.' Ms Onody told the hearing Mr Baker had been storing 125 litres of petrol in five canisters around their large home. On the day of the fire, Ms Onody had called the police at about 5pm and while on the call Baker had pulled the phone cable from the wall socket. After he went upstairs she reconnected the phone and called the police again. 'We heard him dragging furniture,' she said. 'The children and I were downstairs in the lounge and the police arrived and they told us they were going to arrest him and they were going to go upstairs and break down his door.' The inquest heard that no one saw Mr Baker alive again. Limited remains of his body were recovered from the detached property. Pathologist Dr Deborah Cook gave a cause of death as unascertained. Gabriella Onody, the couple's adult daughter, had returned to the family home a few weeks before. Fuel piled up in the house In a written statement, she told the hearing: 'As I moved back home in mid-August it seemed like dad was planning something. 'I noticed fuel piled up in the house, in entryways and in outbuildings and around the same time we became aware he cancelled the house insurance. 'He was locking himself in his bedroom. In the week before the fire he was quieter, less abusive and less aggressive. 'The day of the fire, he was desperately trying to find conflict with anything. He was just screaming and shouting. 'He was drinking ridiculous amounts of alcohol every day. Cider was his main drink and bottles of wine.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Former detective Malcolm Baker died in Somerset house fire
A former detective superintendent died in a fire that engulfed his home shortly after police arrived to arrest him for a domestic dispute, an inquest has been Baker's thatched cottage in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton in Somerset, was destroyed in the blaze on the evening of 14 September, hearing, being held at Somerset Coroner's Court, heard the 60-year-old had been stockpiling fuel around the house, had locked himself in his bedroom following a confrontation with his had been called several times that summer by his wife over allegations of domestic abuse and financial fraud. Mr Baker retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2011 and moved to Somerset with his family, where he ran a security consultancy with his wife Francesca couple had been married nearly 20 years and had two children together, but were in the process of divorcing when Mr Baker Onody said he became "very angry" when he found out she wanted a divorce, and she had grown concerned about his mental health and heavy told police her husband's behaviour was becoming "quite strange and more threatening", and on one occasion he had left a dead rabbit in her bed. Ms Onody added Mr Baker never sought medical help because he did not want anything to compromise his security vetting. Ms Onody told the hearing she had discovered her husband had cancelled the home insurance policy, then reinstated it, before cancelling it again two days before he also said Mr Baker had been stockpiling 125 litres of petrol in five canisters around their large home. 'Calm before the storm' The couple's adult daughter, Gabriella Onody, had returned to the family home a few weeks before the fire and noticed her father was "quieter, less abusive and less aggressive"."It seemed like dad was planning something," she said."As we learned to anticipate worse abuse by quieter behaviour, this confirmed to us that something bad was going to happen. It felt like the calm before the storm."The day of the fire, he was desperately trying to find conflict with anything. He was just screaming and shouting."Th inquest heard Ms Onody had called the police at about 17:00 BST due to her husband's on the call, he pulled the phone cable from the wall socket before going upstairs and locking himself in his Onody reconnected the phone and redialled 999. "The children and I were downstairs in the lounge," she told the hearing. "We heard him dragging furniture and we heard loud heavy noises, and he had big heavy oak furniture in his bedroom."The police arrived and they told us they were going to arrest him. They were going to go upstairs and break down his door."As officers tried to force his door open, Ms Onody noticed liquid trickling through the lounge ceiling."I shouted to the police they must have popped a radiator as it was next to his door," she said."I thought it was water and straight after I heard shouting, "it's petrol, get out", and the police came running down the stairs and we evacuated." The inquest heard no one saw Mr Baker alive again after he had run upstairs and locked himself in his remains of his body were recovered from the property, but it was not possible to establish a cause of inquest, which is being held before a jury, continues.
