An arsonist who murdered a neighbour after beating him unconscious and setting fire to his caravan has been jailed for life. The victim's body was described as "smouldering and smoking" after being pulled from the fire.
Darren Smith, 43, killed Richard Thomas at the Beeches caravan park in Magor, Monmouthshire, on December 20, 2021, after an argument between the two men resulted in the murderer assaulting his victim, leaving him with a head injury and broken ribs. He then poured petrol on and around the victim before setting the caravan alight and leaving Mr Thomas to die before walking back to his own caravan.
The fire was discovered by the site owner's son Jason Pritchard who saw smoke coming from Mr Thomas' caravan and put the fire out with a hose. He then saw Mr Thomas lying on the floor and tried to pull him out, but the victim's skin degloved from his body. Emergency services were called to the caravan site and firefighters performed a "snatch recue" of Mr Thomas. His arms and legs were badly burnt and were beginning to "curl" , a sign of major tendon damage.
