A Kempton Park woman who deliberately set her Birchleigh home alight, leading to the death of her husband and several animals, has been sentenced to eight years’ direct imprisonment.
Caroline Travers (52) was sentenced in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday after being found guilty on charges of arson, attempted murder and animal cruelty.
The charges stem from a fire that broke out at the Travers family home on Essenwood Street on March 11, 2022.
During the incident, Gregory Travers, two dogs and a bird became trapped inside the burning house. Gregory later died from injuries sustained in the blaze, while the animals died at the scene.
The court heard evidence from eight state witnesses during the trial, including neighbours, community patrollers, police officials and fire experts.
According to testimony presented before court, Travers admitted to starting the fire and had allegedly expressed on several occasions that she wanted her husband dead.
A fire expert testified that the blaze originated in the lounge area and was deliberately started, ruling out accidental or electrical causes.
Travers claimed in her defence that she had started what she described as a “controlled fire” in an attempt to force her husband to open a locked bedroom door.
However, the court rejected her version, finding it improbable and inconsistent with the evidence before it.
In delivering judgment, the magistrate found that Travers acted with dolus eventualis, meaning she foresaw the possibility that her husband could die as a result of the fire and reconciled herself with that outcome.
She was subsequently convicted on all three charges and sentenced to eight years’ direct imprisonment.