An arsonist whose actions led to the death of a 13-year-old boy at his first sleepover has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison, closing a chapter on a tragic case that remained unresolved for over 27 years.
A Night of Tragedy in Waterloo
In April 1998, Arthur Haines was looking forward to a simple childhood pleasure: his first sleepover at a friend's house in inner-city Waterloo, Sydney. The plan was to visit the Royal Easter Show the next day. Tragically, he never made it.
The evening turned to catastrophe when Gregory John Walker, then aged 30, threw a Molotov cocktail into the home's kitchen amid a bitter neighbourhood dispute. Justice Hament Dhanji of the NSW Supreme Court described the results as catastrophic. The fire spread rapidly, trapping Arthur on the third floor.
In a desperate bid to escape the inferno, the young boy was forced to jump from a window. He suffered severe burns to 65% of his body and died in hospital 11 weeks later.
A Long Road to Justice
More than a quarter of a century later, Walker, now 58, was finally sentenced. He kept his eyes downcast as Justice Dhanji imposed a maximum term of 10 years and nine months for manslaughter.
The court heard of Walker's callous disregard in the fire's immediate aftermath. When a neighbour confronted him, saying "I know you've done it," Walker chillingly replied: "If you think that was a big fire, wait until you see my next one."
However, the judge noted Walker had since shown remorse. In 2014, he told a witness he "wouldn't have gone through with it" if he had known children were inside. His arrest finally came in 2020 after NSW Police offered a $1 million reward for information.
A Life Changed, But a Family's Lasting Pain
Justice Dhanji acknowledged that Walker, a former boxer with an extensive criminal history dating to the 1980s, had turned his life around since 1998. He had established a not-for-profit for young people, which the judge said represented an attempt to make amends.
Yet, the judge stressed this could not square the ledger. He noted Walker only admitted to unlawfully killing Arthur in October this year, on the eve of a trial for murder, despite the family's lengthy wait for answers.
Arthur's mother, Julie Szabo, who campaigned tirelessly to keep her son's memory alive, was surrounded by loved ones in court. In a heart-wrenching statement, she spoke of the heavy guilt she carried since allowing Arthur that fateful sleepover.
"It was going to be the first night he had not slept under the same roof as me," she wrote. "I gave him the biggest hug, we both said we loved each other, I didn't know at the time it would be one of our last hugs."
With time already served, Walker will be eligible for parole in February 2029. Justice Dhanji concluded by thanking Ms. Szabo and acknowledging the profound pain endured by Arthur's family and community, stating that no sentence could right the wrong that was done.
