Probation sentence for man who set fire to house in Aveiro out of jealousy

This Thursday, an Aveiro court sentenced a man who set fire to the rented house where he lived with his partner and her daughter for reasons of passion to a suspended sentence of four and a half years’ imprisonment.

The 64-year-old defendant was sentenced in installments to three years and five months in prison for arson and three years in prison for domestic violence.

Legally, he was given a single sentence of four and a half years in prison, suspended for the same period, with probation including treatment for alcoholism and attendance at programs for offenders of domestic violence crimes.

The defendant was also banned for three years from communicating with his former partner, to whom he must pay compensation in the amount of 2,000 euros.

During the trial, the defendant claimed he acted out of jealousy, adding that before setting the house on fire, he called his partner and told her what he was going to do.

Before the panel of judges, the man explained that he had set fire to a sheet in one of the rooms of the house with a lighter, and said that it was the firefighters who pulled him out of the burning house.

He also acknowledged the existence of quarrels within the couple due to jealousy, as he suspected that his partner was unfaithful to him, showing regret.

During one of these conversations, the accused admitted to taking a kitchen knife and stabbing his partner in the stomach, but denied other attacks and said he did not remember insulting her.

A fire in a house consisting of two floors and located in Oliveirinha, Aveiro, occurred on the night of May 20, 2022.

According to the indictment of the prosecutor’s office (MP), after an argument, the accused set fire to bed linen in one of the bedrooms of the house, the flames spread to the first floor of the house, which was destroyed.

The deputy also claims that if not for the prompt actions of firefighters, the fire would have spread to the entire building.