A mother who doused herself and her son in kerosene before lighting their kitchen on fire was acting in “desperation, rather than malice”, a court has been told.
Rita Khatri, 36, was seen visibly sobbing and rocking back and forth in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon as she was sentenced to serve four years and eight months in prison for her acts.
The mother-of-one had initially been charged with attempted murder in June last year, however the charge was dropped when she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of recklessly engaging in conduct that placed her son in danger of death.
Outlining the circumstances of the case, Justice James Gorton said the incident occurred at a time of “great personal stress” during the breakdown of Khatri’s second marriage and facing the prospect of having to leave Australia.
Camera IconThe case was heard in Victoria’s Supreme Court. NewsWire / David Geraghty Credit: News Corp Australia
‘Desperately frightened and panicked’
Born in India, Khatri had migrated to Melbourne after meeting her second husband online in August 2023, the court was told.
But their relationship quickly deteriorated and he had withdrawn support for her spousal visa. She was unable to work and had no family in the country.
On June 26 last year, Khatri was caught on CCTV purchasing 8 litres of kerosene from Bunnings in Werribee, asking her seven-year-old son later that evening; “do you want to play a game?”.
In the kitchen of their home, she doused herself and the boy in kerosene and set fire to their clothing on the floor.
“You were crying, you told your son to go next to the fire and he refused to do so,” Justice Gorton said.
‘Stop killing us’
Audio from a camera and a triple-0 phone call the boy made captured what happened next, described by the judge as “desperately frightened and panicked”.
The court was told the boy ran from his mother and tried to alert emergency services, saying “our house is burning” and “mommy stop”.
The young boy struggled as his mother attempted to carry him back to the kitchen.
Justice Gorton said much of the audio was indecipherable, but the Khatri could be heard yelling and the boy screaming; “mommy I don’t want to die” and “stop killing us”.
He fled outside and stopped a motorist, clinging to their door and begging them to call the police.
Khatri followed, saying: “What are you f–king doing, why are you doing this to me?”
After police arrived, she told them she had nothing to live for and was arrested.
Camera IconEmergency services found and put out an approximately 60cm by 60cm fire in the kitchen. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia
Two days later, Khatri was recorded in a prison phone call urging the person who was caring for her son to persuade him to tell police it was an accident.
“If you want your mother back, you should stop all this,” Justice Gorton said quoting her.
“He needs to be made to understand.”
This conduct led to a second charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, which Khatri pleaded guilty to.
Justice Gorton told the court he was sentencing Khatri on the basis she recklessly engaged in conduct that placed her son at risk of death, not that she intended to cause him harm.
“I accept your counsel’s submission that this was committed in circumstances of desperation rather than malice,” he said.
But the judge said her actions were “a statement of some sort” and Khatri had put her own desire to make a statement above the safety of her child.
The court was told she continues to see herself as a “victim of circumstance” and had written in a letter to the court that she was “disappointed the system had failed” her.
“I accept you regret your actions but I do not accept you have accepted responsibility,” Justice Gorton said.
“You continue to assert that you did not intend to cause harm to yourself or your son which has an air of unreliability about it.”The judge said her son had shown “remarkable courage” and fortunately did not suffer any burns but was taken to hospital due to some skin damage from the kerosene.
He told the court he took into account Khatri’s early plea of guilty, complex mental health conditions and the expectation she would be deported.
mental health support
