Woman repeatedly set on fire, stabbed 11 times by attempted murderer Daryl Robertson

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to graphic violence.

A man who used “many, many” aerosol cans to repeatedly set fire to a woman after he stabbed her 11 times should be considered among the worst offenders for his charge, a court has heard.

Daryl Allan Robertson, 53, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder after burning the woman on 21 per cent of her body, for which he potentially faces life in prison.

He was at her home on the night of 28 September 2022 when he overheard her speaking on the phone, court documents say.

He grabbed a large carving knife from the kitchen and stabbed her 11 times, including leaving a 10 cm-deep wound in her chest, before she fled outside and yelled for help.

But over the next 10 minutes, Robertson used spray cans to burn her across her body. When the first can ran out, he grabbed several others to continue the attack, then also burnt her with a burning rag.

The flames were large enough to be seen over the fence by the neighbours, the documents say.

Police were met with a horrific scene when they arrived, the ACT Supreme Court heard at Robertson’s sentencing hearing on Monday (11 December).

Body-worn camera footage from the officers was shown to Chief Justice Lucy McCallum, but the films were not played to the court. However, those present could still hear what was happening.

The woman had been lying injured in the yard, screaming, while there was blood throughout the house.

Officers found Robertson in a bedroom and asked him where the “blow torch” was.

“It’s just an aerosol can, chief. Fly spray,” he said.

When they asked how he burnt her, he replied, “The flame, the flame from the aerosol can”.

Robertson, who has been in custody since his arrest that night, was seen putting his head in his hands at one stage when listening to the audio from the footage.

The woman appeared in court over audio-visual link with visible burn scars on her body.

“I want to be here in court so you can see what he has done to me, so you can see my burns,” she wrote in a statement read to the court.

She has been in hospital for over a year so far and has had seven surgeries. She remains on oxygen as her lungs were burnt.

“When I think about what Daryl did to me, I feel scared. I’m still scared of Daryl and what he might do to me next,” she said.

“I feel like I’m burning, even when I’m cold.”

Prosecutor Beth Morrisroe said “many, many cans” were used during the attack, although she could not give a precise number.

She argued it was a sustained, tortuous, callous and vicious attack and said if it had been completed, then the woman’s manner of death would have been horrific.

Ms Morrisroe argued the attack should be considered as among the worst for offences of attempted murder. The one factor weighing against a sentence of life imprisonment was his guilty plea, she said.

Robertson’s lawyer, Edward Chen from Legal Aid, said, “This is a very grave crime that was inflicted on a vulnerable victim”, but argued that it was not among the worst such offences.

He argued there was a limited degree of premeditation and there was an element of impulsivity.

Robertson tried to speak up several times during the hearing, which resulted in a warning from the chief justice.

“I will not have these proceedings interrupted,” she said.

She will hand down her sentence on Tuesday morning (12 December).

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1800RESPECT is the national domestic and sexual violence support service – 1800 737 732 or 1800respect.org.au.