Walsall murder accused looked like victim after fatal blaze
A woman accused of murdering her partner was 'panicking' and 'a mess' when emergency services arrived to put out a blaze she is accused of starting, a firefighter told a jury.
A court was told that Susan Buckley set fire to a pile of items on an armchair at Geoffrey Carter's home.
Buckley, aged 57, had a 'love hate relationship' with 58-year-old Mr Carter, a neighbour told the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Mr Carter died in hospital after being rescued from the flat in South Street Gardens, Palfrey, when the blaze broke out on Christmas Day last year.
In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Mr Gareth Walters, Bloxwich watch commander Richard Cooper, who was with the first fire crew at the scene, said 57-year-old Buckley had been in a 'distressed' state when they arrived.
Firefighters had been called to the flats at around 5.30pm.
He said: "She appeared to be panicking, scared and I treated her like a victim.
"She was a mess. Her face was covered in soot."
He said it was 'obvious' she had been drinking.
Taking the witness stand, Wednesbury firefighter Dean Watson said Buckley had been 'agitated' and that she had tried to re-enter the block of flats.
He told the jury that Buckley, who lived on the same street as her partner, had admitted to having an argument with Mr Carter the day before and that he was in the 'back room'.
Another witness, firefighter Brian Kirkbride said he had allowed Buckley to use his phone to call her sister.
He said: "She was quite erratic saying 'he's done it, he's done it, he's done it'."
He told the court that Buckley claimed her partner had beaten her but she still loved him.
Buckley's son, Paul, also gave evidence yesterday and told the jury he had been to visit Mr Carter with his mother in the early afternoon on Christmas Day.
He said there had been a 'bit of an atmosphere' because the pair had argued earlier that day.
He told the jury they had never split up for any significant period of time, and added: "It was a love and hate relationship."
At an earlier hearing the court was told that Mr Carter had been found with knife cuts to his arms which Buckley admitted inflicting, after she initially denied causing him any injury.
Other witnesses told police the couple had frequently argued and Buckley had been seen to punch Mr Carter.
A post mortem examination revealed Wolverhampton-born Mr Carter had died of smoke inhalation.
Buckley denies both murder and manslaughter.
The trial continues.
