Six years after his murder, the bereaved family of deceased adolescent Angus Beaumont fears they have lost both his urn and ashes in a destructive house fire.
Around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, emergency services were dispatched to Ben Beaumont and Michelle Liddle’s Clontarf residence, which is located north of Brisbane.
Corey Wardle, 36, was allegedly staying with the family on Weaber Street when he allegedly used an accelerant to set the property on fire.
The property and two additional houses were destroyed by the fire.
Wardle was arrested and charged with arson (domestic violence) after reportedly fleeing the scene.
For the Beaumont family, who are still in shock over the senseless stabbing death of their son Angus in March 2020, it is a heartbreaking blow.
When Angus, then 15, got into a battle with two teenagers outside McDonald’s at Redcliffe, a knife was plunged 14 cm into his chest, killing him.
The younger youngster who caused the fatal wound was sentenced to nine years in prison, while the elder killer was sentenced to seven and a half years.
On Saturday afternoon, emergency personnel were dispatched to Ben Beaumont and Michelle Liddle’s Clontarf residence.
In 2020, Angus Beaumont lost his life after a knife was driven 14 cm into his chest during a brawl with two teenagers outside McDonald’s at Redcliffe.
On Saturday, a fire damaged the Queensland home of Michelle Liddle and Ben Beaumont. Following the 2020 murder of their son, the couple is seen leaving court.
Since then, both have been freed from prison.
According to Mandy, Mr. Beaumont’s sister, the family was saddened by the alleged arson on Saturday.
“Ben and Michelle have been together for more than 20 years, and Michelle owned the house before that, they’ve been there forever and that’s where he runs his business and that’s where Angus and his other brother grew up, and I know it’s just stuff, but it’s also just devastating after the loss of Angus,” Ms. Beaumont told the Courier Mail. “The gardening business has been the one thing that has really kept him going after Angus was killed.”
It would be heartbreaking if he also lost his business. Where you go from there is beyond me. All I’m concerned about is his emotional state.
The claimed incident was related to mental health, Ms. Beaumont continued.
“This afternoon his [Ben’s] house was (allegedly) burned to the ground after someone he knew got into his house and poured petrol all over it and lit a match with my brother, his partner, and their teenage son in it,” Ms. Beaumont wrote on her GoFundMe page, which she started in an effort to “rally people” to support her brother’s family.
Corey Wardle allegedly resided with the family.
Wardle ran away from the scene, but he was later taken into custody and accused of domestic abuse and arson. “They have lost everything.” As a gardener, my brother has now lost all of his tools and trucks. They have nothing. This tragedy comes after my brother’s son, Angus, was killed in a parking lot in 2020 by two young guys who, thanks to Queensland laws, are now both free and leading normal lives.
“This devastated our family back then, and this subsequent setback is just another terrible thing.”I’m crying, trembling, and unsure of how to make this right. I guess I’ll never be able to, and this death is yet another incalculable loss for our family. I don’t know if they had time to save Angus, but I do know that his ashes were stored in an urn in the living room with a large, exquisitely framed photo of him.
Within a day following the fire, the GoFundMe had raised $20,000.
The Beaumonts were safely and unharmedly removed from the fire.
The family reportedly called triple-0 six times before the alleged arson incident on Saturday.
Wardle reportedly ran away from the scene, but a police dog squad unit found him shortly after with the assistance of several neighborhood kids on their bikes.
Wardle is still being held and is scheduled to appear in Redcliffe Magistrates Court on Monday.
After threatening to kill the Beaumonts, police will claim in court that Wardle took gasoline from a ute, went into the house, poured it all over the place, and lit it on fire.
Ms. Liddle holding a picture of her son
The family is thought to have lost everything in the fire.
Due to the smoke levels, police declared an emergency under the Public Safety Preservation Act, and over forty firefighters battled the fire.
“With three dwellings each involved in an intense fire, the chance of spread to adjoining properties is very high, so they did a fantastic job to prevent that from happening,” Queensland Fire Superintendent Mark Halverson said. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, three houses had already caught fire.
As the Beaumonts’ house caught fire, up to a dozen neighbors hurried to retrieve lawnmowers and fuel-filled jerry cans from their front yard.
One man told the Courier Mail, “At first I heard the house cracking, and then a few loud bangs. Firefighters were here in a couple of minutes and then we all got evacuated.”
On Sunday, a portion of Weaber Street was still blocked off, and police were stationed outside the impacted properties.
