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Man given hospital order following fatal fire in Westcliff

Lillo Troisi set fire to a communal hallway Credit: Essex Police

A man who set a fire on the ninth floor of a block of flats, killing a neighbour and her unborn child, has been made subject of a hospital order.

Lillo Troisi set a fire in a communal hallway outside Khabi Abrey’s flat at Grampian Flats in Balmoral Road, Westcliff, at about 11.10pm on Saturday May 7.

Witnesses had reported hearing her shouting for help and tried to help her, but the smoke was too thick.

Firefighters evacuated the ninth floor and found Mrs Abrey, 30, unconscious in the hallway.

She was taken to hospital but sadly died on Monday May 9. A post mortem examination gave the cause of her death as complications arising following the inhalation of fire fumes. This led to her unborn baby suffering a cardiac arrest.

Troisi set fire to the ninth floor Credit: ITV Meridian

The court heard Troisi, 48, was annoyed with loud music being played, which he believed was being played deliberately to upset him. He set the fire as a warning.

Troisi, unemployed, of Grampian Flats, Balmoral Road, Westcliff, was charged with murder, child destruction and arson.

He denied these charges but admitted involuntary manslaughter and arson when he appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday November 1, 2016.

He was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court today where he was detained under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act to receive treatment. He was also made subject of a section 41 restriction order, which means he will not be discharged from hospital until the Ministry of Justice has agreed to his release.

"It is accepted that Troisi had been diagnosed with a mental health condition and was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time he set the fire. Clearly, as a result of his illness, he had not appreciated the severity or consequences of his actions at that time. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Troisi knew or believed Mrs Abrey was pregnant, or that he wished for her to be killed. However, his appalling actions resulted in both her death and that of her unborn child, for which he must now be held accountable."

– Detective Inspector Al Pitcher, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate

"The whole case has been really sad in that was happened was so preventable. I understand the mental health issues that Lillo Troisi is living with and therefore I am pleased to hear that he will receive the correct treatment. I have been left wondering how someone with such dangerous tendencies could end up being anyone’s neighbour without being cared for.”

– Stuart Abrey, the husband of Khabi Abrey