A man has been charged with allegedly murdering a grandmother whose home later went up in flames on the NSW Central Coast.
Emergency services were called to Melissa Close in Bateau Bay around 9.30pm on August 24, where they discovered the body of 77-year-old Diane Elaine Harkess in the loungeroom of her single-level unit after a fire broke out.
Police allege Ms Harkess suffered significant injuries and died before the blaze began.
Jacob Divola, 26, was initially charged in August with damaging property by fire or explosion (domestic violence-related). Following further inquiries, investigators have now laid a murder (DV) charge.
Divola faced Wyong Local Court on Tuesday and was refused bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for February 3.
In an earlier hearing, Divola’s lawyer told the court he was on a mental health care plan.
Tributes for Ms Harkess have continued to flow, with Superintendent Chad Gillies describing her as “a well-loved member” of the Bateau Bay community who “gets on very well with the residents in the estate there”.
“It’s a tragic set of circumstances,” he said. “She is well loved and a very kind person.”
One of her grandsons wrote online that the family had been left “shattered”, knowing her life and home “were both taken so violently”, adding the loss had created “an emptiness that feels impossible for our family to describe”.
Images: NSW Police / Facebook
