Jenny Hayes, a 48-year-old Victorian woman, has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison for starting a fire that killed a young couple and their 19-day-old baby. She pleaded guilty to three counts of arson causing death in the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday.
The blaze, which broke out in December 2020 at a home in Point Cook, led to the deaths of Abbey Forrest, 19, her partner Inderpal Sohal, 28, and their daughter Ivy. All three died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The court heard that Hayes set the fire in retribution after a man wronged her.
Hayes, a sex worker, had been hired by a friend of Sohal. After a dispute over payment, she claimed the man raped her and stole cash. She sent him angry texts, threatening to set his house on fire. She waited in her car for four minutes before returning to the downstairs bedroom and setting the mattress alight. The family was asleep upstairs and could not escape.
Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth sentenced Hayes to 13 years in prison, with a non-parole period of eight years. She stated that the victims were innocent and that Hayes' actions had terrible consequences. The judge accepted that Hayes did not know others were in the house, as she expressed disbelief when told of the deaths.
