Stunning breakthrough in cold case murder of teenage boy who was burned at his friend’s house – as a man is charged 24 years later with deliberately lighting the fire
Breakthrough made in cold case murder with extradition warrant wanted
A 55-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident on Wednesday
Arthur Haines, 13, died after getting trapped in a fire in Sydney in 1998
Investigators believe a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the building late at night
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A man has been arrested for the cold case murder of a teenage boy in a house fire over two decades ago in a massive cold case breakout.
Homicide detectives arrested a 55-year-old man in Queensland on Wednesday for the alleged murder of Redfern teenager Arthur Haines on April 9, 1998.
Haines, 13, was staying at a friend’s house in Waterloo, Sydney, when a fire swept through the house around 10:30 p.m.
The fire was sparked by a Molotov cocktail thrown at the building, but the case continued to vex investigators for decades until the investigation was reopened in 2020.
A 55-year-old man has been arrested by Queensland Police and is being extradited to NSW over the house fire that killed 13-year-old Arthur Haines on Thursday 9 April 1998.
Arthur was sleeping in a room on the top floor of the house on Walker Street when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the building (Photo: The charred remains of the house)
Arthur was sleeping in a room on the top floor of the house on Walker Street when the house caught fire.
He had to run through the fire to escape, suffered burns to 60 percent of his body and died about 11 weeks later at Westmead’s Children’s Hospital.
Six others in the home escaped unharmed from the building.
After lengthy investigations and public requests for information, Homicide Squad detectives recently received a warrant for the 55-year-old’s arrest.
The man was arrested around 11 a.m. Wednesday by detectives from the Homicide Investigation Unit of the Queensland Police Service at a house in Brisbane.
NSW Police detectives have since traveled to Queensland, where they will request the man’s extradition to NSW at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Julie Szabo, mother of Arthur Haines, who died in a house fire in 1998 with a photo of her son addressing the media during a 2018 call for information
Julie Szabo is comforted by police officer Angela Cook after speaking to the media during a call for information