The parents of murdered teenager Angus Beaumont have revealed they have to temporarily close their business after narrowly escaping a fire that destroyed their home.
The Clontarf home in Queensland, about a 40-minute drive north of Brisbane, belonging to Ben Beaumont and Michelle Liddle was engulfed in flames on Saturday afternoon and was left completely destroyed.
The fire was allegedly started by Angus’s half-brother Corey Wardle, 36, who has been charged with attempted murder and arson.
In the days after the fire, Beaumont and Liddle gave an update on how they planned to try and rebuild, while also thanking the public for all of the support.
“We just managed to get out of the house while the offender was dousing everything and the house was literally burning to the ground,” the couple said in an update on a fundraiser set up by Ben’s sister Mandy Beaumont.
The pair said they would shut down their business, B and M Gardening, for “a week or two” after losing their home, vehicles and work equipment in the blaze.
“We will have to close services for B and M Gardening for a week or two while we rebuild our equipment and find a place to live,” they wrote.
Queensland Police allege Wardle set fire to the home on the Redcliffe Peninsula, before fleeing the scene. He was later arrested nearby by officers and the dog squad.
Police said Beaumont, Liddle and another person were inside the house at the time but escaped uninjured.
More than 30 firefighters were called to battle the blaze, with thick smoke seen across the Redcliffe Peninsula as the fire destroyed the family home and damaged two neighbouring properties.
Beaumont and Liddle also urged the community to support their neighbours, whose homes were damaged in the fire.
“To my two neighbours I hope you are OK,” they wrote. “They will both need significant help over the next few months also.”
One neighbouring home belonging to Riki Ramsay and Hollie Danckert has since been deemed unliveable. A GoFundMe launched by Ramsay’s sister, Alana, said the couple and their six children had lost everything.
“They can no longer live in their home, as it is deemed unliveable,” she wrote. “The fire just spread too fast and they have lost everything.”
Alana said the family escaped with only “the clothes they had on the day they had to leave” and their dog Stormy, after Ramsay “ran back into the burning house to save” the pet.
A third neighbouring home belonging to Adelaide Johnson and her partner Roman was also significantly damaged in the fire, with the young couple losing personal belongings and their car after flames spread from the destroyed property next door.
A fundraiser launched by Johnson’s sister said the pair had only recently moved out of home together and had been building their first home when the fire tore through the property. Roman was home at the time but escaped safely.
“In one night, their sense of safety, stability, and the home they had only just started building together was turned upside down through no fault of their own,” Johnson's sister Taylor wrote.
In a message shared online, the couple said they had been “truly overwhelmed” by the support from the community following the fire.
“As a young couple who had only moved out on our own a few months ago, we were just beginning to build our first home together, collecting furniture and creating a space that felt like ours,” they wrote. “We have been deeply touched by every donation, kind message, and gesture of support.”
The latest tragedy comes six years after Angus Beaumont was stabbed to death at age 15 in a case that helped change youth crime laws in Queensland.
In the aftermath of the fire, the Beaumont family feared treasured memorial items linked to Angus may have been lost, including the urn containing his ashes. Relatives have since confirmed the urn was safely recovered from the home.
The fundraising campaign for the Beaumont family had raised almost $28,000 by Tuesday afternoon, while separate appeals for Adelaide Johnson and partner Roman, and Riki Ramsay and Hollie Danckert, had each attracted more than $4,800 in donations.
Wardle is being held in a mental health ward and expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday.
