D3:ADLY BLAZE — WOMAN FOUND D3:AD AFTER CANBERRA HOUSE FIRE… THEN POLICE MADE A SHOCKING MOVE

Man charged with murder after woman found dead in Canberra house fire

A 27-year-old man has been charged with murder and arson after a woman was found dead in a unit fire in Canberra’s north earlier this year.

Emergency services were called to Wallcliffe Flats on Osborne Place in Belconnen about 6:40am on May 18, with crews finding a ground-floor unit alight.

Kylee McHugh, 46, was found inside but could not be saved.

After what police described as an “extensive investigation”, officers yesterday arrested 27-year-old Canberra construction worker Jack Henry Curtin.

He faced the ACT Magistrates Court this morning on charges of murder and arson.

The court heard that police believed Ms McHugh was dead before the fire took hold, with injuries found to her neck.

Prosecutors also told the court that five fire ignition points were found within the unit, including one in Ms McHugh’s bedroom where her body was found.

Kylee McHugh was found dead in her Belconnen unit in May.  (Supplied: ACT Policing)

In seeking bail, Mr Curtin’s lawyer argued his employment and care responsibilities, as well as deteriorating health conditions, were grounds for his conditional release.

But Magistrate Alexandra Burt refused bail, ruling that the potential impacts were the “ordinary consequences of his remand and don’t rise to the level of special or exceptional circumstances”.

She also noted the extent of his medical care requirements were not clear.

“Nor is it clear to me that the medical attention could not be provided at the AMC (Alexander Maconochie Centre),” Magistrate Burt said.

The case will return to court in October.

Victim and accused were known to each other

At a press conference this morning, ACT Policing’s Detective Acting Inspector Chris Watson said the accused was known to Ms McHugh, describing it as an “association” rather than a “relationship of any kind”.

“We believe that in the early hours of the 18th of May he did [allegedly] murder Kylee and subsequently set the house on fire,”

he said.

Emergency services were called to the blaze by passers-by who saw smoke. (ABC News: Caitlin Maloney)

Detective Acting Inspector Watson said he could not speak on a possible motive, but confirmed that the accused was known to police.

He said the man was known to “transit the area” where Ms McHugh was killed, and police were investigating whether drugs could have been involved.

Detective Acting Inspector Watson encouraged anyone with further information to contact Crime Stoppers.

“At this point in time [the 27-year-old] is the only suspect but we do believe there are other people that have more information and that can assist us,” he said.

“They may have information that isn’t known to us and may be able to provide further insight into events that happened after her death.”

Fire crews attending the fatal blaze at Wallcliffe Flats on Osborne Place in Belconnen.  (ABC News: Caitlin Maloney)