Ex-cop died in blaze after locking himself in room

A FORMER detective superintendent died in a house fire which was started shortly after police arrived at his home to arrest him, an inquest heard.

- ROD MINCHIN

Malcolm Baker, 60, had locked himself in his bedroom after a confrontation with his wife.

When the police went upstairs to speak to him, they smelled petrol, which was pouring through the ceiling into the lounge, and evacuated the house.

The thatched cottage in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton, Somerset, caught fire and was destroyed in the blaze on the evening of September 14, 2022.

Somerset Coroner's Court heard the police had been called several times that summer by his wife, because of allegations she made against him of domestic abuse and financial fraud.

Mr Baker retired from the Met Police in 2011 and moved to Somerset with his family, where he ran a security consultancy with his wife, Francesca Onody.

The couple had been married nearly 20 years and had two children together but were in the process of divorcing when Mr Baker died.

Ms Onody said he became "very angry" when he found out she wanted a divorce.