A MAN found guilty of murdering his girlfriend after she died in a blaze at their home was yesterday freed by judges who quashed his conviction.
Ruling the verdict was unsafe, London's Criminal Appeal Court said there was not enough evidence against John Collings, who was jailed for life in November 2002.
Mr Collings, 49, of Dean Street, Hexham, Northumberland, was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of murdering Victoria Barker, 30. He had denied starting the August 2000 fire at their flat, in Coquet Gardens, South Stanley, County Durham.
Lord Justice Pill said there was no doubt Mr Collings and Ms Barker were substantially under the influence of alcohol when the fire occurred.
The case against Mr Collings was circumstantial and, in part, the prosecution relied on the background and nature of the relationship, and on inconsistencies in statements he made on the day of the fire, he said.
Scientific evidence did not show acts by him which could have led to the fire starting.
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