A 50-year-old man has been apprehended and charged with murder after an 80-year-old man was killed in a ferocious house fire in Sydney’s inner-west.
A major search was launched to locate the younger man, who also lived at the property in Croydon and was related to the victim.
He was tracked down to Woy Woy, on the NSW central coast, overnight Wednesday.
Police said the man was concealing a machete in his pants when he was arrested.
NSW Police confirmed early on Thursday he had been charged with murder, as well as destroy or damage property with intent to endanger life (domestic violence-related), and armed robbery.
He will appear in Gosford Local Court later on Thursday.
“This has been an intensive few hours to locate a man we believe can assist with our inquiries into what we allege is a suspicious fire,” Superintendent Christine McDonald said.
Ted Grantham, 80, who was killed in the blaze, has been remembered as a gentle person who dedicated his life to music and the church.
The “loving father and husband” reportedly played the organ at his local church.
His body was found after emergency services were called to the fire about 4am on Wednesday.
The flames were so intense they caused the roof to collapse and forced firefighters to retreat.
An elderly woman who left the home about three hours before the fire is assisting police.
Six trucks and almost two dozen firefighters attended the fire, entering the back of the property due to “intense” flames at the front of the single-story red-brick house.
Footage taken after the blaze was extinguished shows a large portion of the roof caved in and firefighters examining other parts of the extensively damaged Irrara Street home.
The two men and the elderly woman are all believed to be related.
“We are speaking with family members back at the police station, and I know that they would be so devastated at what has occurred,” McDonald said.
“It really is tragic.”
Live News
