Hefty sentence for Perth man who set his wife on fire days after she left him

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A WA man who set his wife on fire days after she ended their 11-year marriage has been sentenced in the District Court, with the judge telling him his offending had significant consequences.

A jury found Peter Moiler guilty of the June 2023 incident earlier this week.

Moiler claimed his now ex-partner had set light to herself outside their Mount Helena home, leaving her with life-changing burns to 38 per cent of her body.

But a jury disagreed and on Friday he was sentenced to 11 years behind bars for the crime.

Over the course of the trial, the jury heard how the couple were both embroiled in drug use over the course of their relationship which led to volatility between the pair.

In May 2023, the couple decided to go their separate ways and Kirsten moved to the nearby suburb of Sawyers Valley.

Continued drug use, the court heard, led to “unpredictable and erratic” behaviours from Peter Moiler that left Kirsten fearful.

As a result, she consulted police in Mundaring and later Midland Magistrates Court about a restraining order to protect her from her estranged husband but was told she would have to return four days later to put forward an application.

Later that afternoon, she drove to the Mount Helena property and before she could get out of her car, was doused in flammable liquid and set on fire.

Giving evidence in the trial, Kirsten told the jury she didn’t know what was happening until she could feel flames across her body.

“I can’t really describe it for you,” she said.

“It felt like my skin was being ripped off my body. It was burning, it was singeing. I couldn’t stop it.”

Kirsten suffered partial and full thickness burns to 38 per cent of her body.

On Friday she was granted a lifetime restraining order to protect her from Moiler while he was sentenced to 11 years behind bars.

He was made eligible for parole and his sentence was backdated to June 2023 when he was first placed into custody.