Perth teen claims he was acting in self defence after burning mum's partner with flamethrower
- ruby457
- May 8, 2019
- 1 min read
A Perth teenager who attacked his mother's partner with a flamethrower as the man fought with his father has wiped away tears during the first day of his trial, claiming he acted in self-defence.
The then 15-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, admits to pointing a flamethrower at the man, causing burns to his face, shoulders and airways, during the altercation outside his house in mid-2018.
In the first day of the teen's trial in Perth Children's Court on Tuesday, the magistrate was told how the partner of the boy's mother hated his father "with a passion".
On the day of the incident, according to the boy's mother, the man had tried to choke her friend's dog with a rope, before arriving at her house drunk.
"He kept smashing the front door with a hammer ... he rammed the roller door with his car ... [and] poured petrol on the front of the house.
"I was petrified."
The magistrate is tasked with determining whether the boy's decision to use a flamethrower on the man was a reasonable response to protect himself or his father; the state argues the response was not reasonable.
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