A deranged man who showered his terrified wife wit

A deranged man who showered his terrified wife with petrol
then taunted her with a cigarette lighter has been sent to a
mental hospital.

Duke Preddie, 53, made his wife Naomi certain she was about
to die in a human fireball when a petty argument over use of a
car made him erupt in anger.

Their 10-year-old son looked on in horror as he told her:
‘I’m going to light your fire,’ the Old Bailey heard today
Monday.

Mrs Preddie saved her own life by calming him down.

By the time the police arrived and restrained him, she was
hiding in the garden of their home in Winchester Road, Lower
Edmonton, still soaked in petrol.

She told police there had been a similar clash the week
before.

Preddie rejected allegations that he had threatened to burn
his wife, adding: ‘If I’d wanted to light her, I would have.

‘
He later told police he had been in pain recently ‘because
someone I don’t know was injecting something in my hand.

‘
Preddie also claimed he was being attacked at night in his
bed by ‘things’.

The court was told defendant, who admitted assault
occasioning actual bodily harm for the August 23 clash this
year, had a long history of mental illness.

Judge Charles Forrester told him: ‘I have no doubt that this
is a clear case for a hospital order.

‘In April 1986, you were in a mental hospital but discharged
yourself in two or three days against medical advice.

‘Since then you have not always taken the medication that has
been prescribed for you.

‘You must do that – the doctors are here to help you.

‘
The judge praised Mrs Preddie for her years of effort and
support.

Even after the incident, she continued to visit her
husband in custody.

‘She has stood by you in spite of your many difficulties over
the years.

You are lucky.

‘
Preddie did not react as he was ordered to be detained in a
mental hospital.

ENDS