Former Met detective died in fire after locking himself in bedroom, inquest told

Malcolm Baker, 60, had locked himself in his bedroom after a confrontation with his wife.

When the police went upstairs to speak to him, they smelled petrol, which was pouring through the ceiling into the lounge, and evacuated the house.

The thatched cottage in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton, Somerset, caught fire and was destroyed in the blaze on the evening of September 14, 2022.

Somerset Coroner’s Court heard the police had been called several times that summer by his wife, because of allegations she made against him of domestic abuse and financial fraud.

Mr Baker retired from the Met Police in 2011 and moved to Somerset with his family, where he ran a security consultancy with his wife, Francesca Onody.

The couple had been married nearly 20 years and had two children together but were in the process of divorcing when Mr Baker died.

Ms Onody said he became "very angry" when he found out she wanted a divorce.

She said she had concerns about Mr Baker’s mental health and heavy drinking, but he never sought medical help because he did not want anything to compromise his security vetting.

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Ms Onody said she spoke to the police officer who was investigating her complaints about her husband’s behaviour.

"I highlighted to him that Malcolm’s behaviour was getting quite strange and more threatening, and I was really worried about Malcolm’s mental health," she said.

"On one occasion Malcolm left a dead rabbit in my bed."

Ms Onody told the hearing she had discovered her husband had cancelled the home insurance policy, then reinstated it, before cancelling it again two days before he died.

She also said Mr Baker had been storing 125 litres of petrol in five canisters around their large home.

On the day of the fire, Ms Onody had called the police at about 5pm because of her husband’s behaviour towards her, and while on the call he had pulled the phone cable from the wall socket.

But after going upstairs and locking himself in his bedroom, she reconnected the phone and called the police again.

"We heard him dragging furniture and we heard loud heavy noises, and he had big heavy oak furniture in his bedroom," she said.

"The children and I were downstairs in the lounge and the police arrived and they told us they were going to arrest him and they were going to go upstairs and break down his door.

"I actually said to them not to do that because it is a really heavy door and you won’t get in.

"They tried to force it, and then it came through the ceiling, and I thought it was water, and I shouted to the police they must have popped a radiator as it was next to his door.

"I thought it was water and straight after I heard shouting, ‘It’s petrol, get out’ and the police came running down the stairs and we evacuated."

Ms Onody said she immediately ran back inside her home to rescue the family pet snake.

"I was focusing on getting in and getting out with the snake and I didn’t hear anything," she said.

The inquest heard that no-one saw Mr Baker alive again after he had run upstairs and locked himself in his bedroom.

Limited remains of his body were recovered from the detached property, and it was not possible to establish a cause of death.

Pathologist Dr Deborah Cook gave a cause of death as unascertained.

The inquest before a jury continues.