A woman accused of lighting a fatal fire in Gymea last year, then tampering with a water meter so a hose could not be used to put out the blaze, has been granted bail in the NSW Supreme Court.
Amanda Zukowski, 46, was charged with murder in June this year after her partner Jeffrey Lindsell, 39, was severely burned in the fire at his Gymea granny flat in the early hours of October 7, 2017. He died in hospital two days later.
On Wednesday, Ms Zukowski applied for bail at the Supreme Court in Sydney, appearing via video link from Mary Wade Correctional Centre at Lithgow.
DPP solicitor Raffaella Buttini opposed bail, saying Ms Zukowski has a history of aggression and violence and has provided multiple versions of what happened on that night, which might suggest she's trying to "cover something up".
Ms Buttini said Mr Lindsell was considering ending the relationship with Ms Zukowski, and there was a "very aggressive and loud" argument heard between a man and a woman shortly before the fire.
Two arson investigators from Fire and Rescue NSW believe the blaze started in the lounge room of the granny flat, in an area around the lounge itself, the court heard.
Detective Senior Constable Christopher Preston, the police officer in charge of the case, told the bail hearing four lighters were found in the wreckage of the flat, after police took rubble outside and sifted through it.
Fire investigators had ruled out an electrical fault, which was deemed "possible but not likely", and ruled out that a heater was the cause of the fire.
The court was played a recorded video of a neighbour, Linda West, who recalled repeatedly asking Ms Zukowski where Mr Lindsell was after the fire broke out.
"I asked her again about Jeffrey, I said 'you sure he's not there?'," Ms West told police.
She said Ms Zukowski responded, "He's not f---in' in there, Linda".
It is alleged Ms Zukowski then crouched on the front lawn of the property, adjacent to the water meter, and turned the tap to reduce the water pressure.
Mr Preston said shortly afterwards, when the victim's father Desmond Lindsell tried to use a garden hose to extinguish the then metre-high blaze, only a trickle of water came out.
"He said it was a catastrophic loss of pressure," Mr Preston said. "He used the words, 'I could have pissed further'."
An extensive police investigation has involved more than 100 hours of surveillance device material and more than 1000 intercepted phone calls.
In one of the calls, Ms Zukowski allegedly told her mother she may have dropped a cigarette before the fire.
Ms Zukowski's barrister Michael Smith said police "cannot exclude, nor will they ever be able to exclude, that the start of this fire is an accident".
"Their own experts say there's a real possibility it was accidentally started," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith said several police officers who responded to the blaze constantly tipped water over Mr Lindsell while he was treated by paramedics.
He asked if any of the officers made any comment about water pressure from the taps in the main house, which were covered by the same water meter as the hose.
"No," Mr Preston said.
In granting bail, Justice David Davies said the Crown case is circumstantial and it is hard to tell if Ms Zukowski could have actually touched the water meter when she was crouching near it.
Justice Davies said "on the face of it, there appear to be lies told" by her.
Ms Zukowski was ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor and was bailed to live at an address in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville. Her parents must provide a surety of $100,000 to guarantee her appearance in court.
She will face court again in December.
