Two city men go on trial charged with murder after fatal house fire

Man, 26, died after blaze spread fast

- Sentinel Reporter

TWO Stoke-on-Trent men have gone on trial charged with murdering a man by setting fire to his house as he slept.

Dale Francis, aged 37, of Clare Street, Basford, and Daniel Tatters, aged 26, of no fixed address, are accused of murdering 26-year-old Akashdeep Singh after an arson attack on his home in Wolverhampton, in June last year.

They both deny murder, three charges of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life. Their trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court is expected to last up to six weeks.

Francis told police he drove the other man to the scene to pay off an £800 debt, believing the man was going to set fire to a car in a driveway.

Tatters has made no comment but his case is expected to be that he was not there.

However, the court heard a blue cigarette lighter found in front of the torched house contained his DNA. And he went to hospital less than three hours after the incident to have finger wounds treated.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC told the jury: "At around 1am on June 25, 2024 a hooded figure in dark clothing walked across the drive and up to a bay window of a house in Plascom Road.

"This figure hammered on the glass until it shattered. He lit a container of flammable liquid and threw it inside the house, starting a fire that spread up the stairs too rapidly for the homeowner to put out with some water he had fetched from the kitchen.

"Akashdeep and his mother were trapped upstairs. They were overcome by the flames and smoke. Akashdeep died as a result of his burns and the smoke.