STATE OF TASMANIA v MICHELLE DAWN FRANKCOMBE 27 AUGUST 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Michelle Dawn Frankcombe, you have pleaded guilty to nine counts of unlawfully setting fire to vegetation. The crimes were committed in February and March 2023. The first count relates to a fire you lit in an area of bushland off Beulah Road in Lower Beulah on 13 February 2023. This land was owned by Forico Pty Ltd, a forest management company. The fire spread and burnt approximately 56 hectares of bushland, including several timber plantations in various stages of maturation. It continued to burn over a number of days. None of the burnt timber was salvageable. It is estimated that the tree plantations which were destroyed by the fire were valued at $464,000. This speaks to the extent of the fire associated with this charge.
The second fire occurred on 25 February 2023. This time, you lit an area of bushland off Rail Track Road at Stoodley. This land was owned by Sustainable Timber Tasmania. This was a relatively small fire and burnt approximately 30 metre square of grasslands.
The third count relates to a fire you lit in an area of bushland at Lower Beulah. This occurred on 4 March 2023. This fire only burnt a small area of bushland.
The next fire you lit also occurred in bushland in the Lower Beulah area. This fire was lit on 5 March 2023 and again only burnt a small area of bushland.
On 6 March 2023, you again lit a fire in a similar area. It was extinguished after it burnt a relatively small area. During the investigation of this fire, police obtained CCTV footage, which revealed your car in the vicinity of the area in which the fire had been lit.
The sixth count relates to a fire you lit on 10 March 2023. This fire burnt approximately 100 metre square of grassland. After extinguishing the fire, fire fighters found a box of matches in the area. Subsequent forensic analysis revealed a positive DNA match to you. On 13 March, police attended your address and spoke to your husband. He reported that you had been in the area of the fires but said you would have been looking for cattle which had escaped from your property.
The seventh fire occurred on 15 March 2023. On this occasion, you lit an area of bushland at Stoodley. The fire spread and burnt approximately 300 metres square of bushland before it was extinguished.
On 23 March 2023, you lit another fire. This time, in a patch of dry grass on a nature strip at Stoodley Road. This fire self-extinguished and caused negligible damage. CCTV footage obtained from a nearby residence showed your car in the area at the relevant time.
On 24 March 2023, you lit another patch of dry grass on a nature strip on Beulah Road. This fire was extinguished after it had burnt approximately l00 metres square of grassland.
On 30 March 2023, you were spoken to by police. You participated in an interview. You initially denied lighting the fires. Later, when challenged by police about some of the forensic results, you suggested your son may have been responsible for lighting the fire. After further questioning, you accepted that you had lit two of the fires, being the ones on 15 March and 23 March. Because of what you told police about your son’s potential involvement, he was spoken to by police. He denied any involvement. Police again spoke to you about the matter. This time you suggested that you may have been confused about which child was involved in the fire lighting and accused your daughter of being responsible for one of the fires. She, too, was spoken to by police and denied any involvement. On 5 November, police spoke to you again about the fire lighting. This time you admitted lighting a further fire on the 24 March 2023.
You are 55 years of age. You have no relevant prior convictions involving fire lighting. Your recorded criminal history contains some traffic infringement matters and a minor matter of assault, which was dealt with by way of an undertaking without conviction. You have been married for 27 years and have three adult children. Your two sons live independently, but your daughter still lives at home. She suffers from several disabilities, and you act as her primary carer.
Following the completion of your education in Grade 10, you undertook some casual manual labour work but otherwise you have been engaged in home duties all your adult life. You had a terrible childhood. You were sexually abused by your father and have experienced trauma symptoms since childhood. I have received a forensic psychological assessment report in respect to you. It indicates that you have chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, resulting from this childhood abuse. You also have a long history of anxiety and depression. Your symptoms are currently being exacerbated by the onset of menopause. The author of the report, Dr O’Donnell, opines there is a nexus between your mental health conditions and the commission of these crimes. Just before your fire lighting behaviour commenced, you confronted your father about the sexual abuse he had perpetrated upon you. Thereafter it seems you had quite an extreme emotional reaction and this fire lighting was a mechanism through which you sought to relieve your stress and anxiety.
Dr O’Donnell notes that a catalyst for engaging in fire setting behaviour is often emotional distress, with the fire lighting becoming a means of emotional expression. Dr O’Donnell also notes that at the relevant time, your mental health was being impacted by a number of factors, including a change in your anti-depressant medication, symptoms of perimenopause and the emotional aftermath of confronting your father about the childhood sexual abuse. In Dr O’Donnell’s opinion, these factors, coupled with your learning difficulties and below average intellectual functioning, culminated to a point where you needed to release stress and anxiety and the fire lighting provided a release for the intense emotions you were experiencing, such as anger, sadness, frustration and feelings of powerlessness. Dr O’Donnell opines that “the adrenalin thrill and euphoria of seeing a fire ignite provide a marked shift in the nervous system that relieves the intense negative emotions“. There is no reason why I ought not to accept the opinion of Dr O’Donnell..
I accept that your mental health directly contributed to the commission of these crimes, and there is a consequential lessening of your moral culpability. I also accept your fragile mental health means a period of incarceration would be very difficult for you, and there is a risk that incarceration would result in further deterioration of your mental health.
Since the commission of these crimes, you have worked hard with mental health professionals to develop strategies to minimise further ongoing risk. Your medication has been stabilised and you are seeing a counsellor on a regular basis. I am told you recognise it will be necessary to maintain a relationship with mental health professionals to ensure there is no decline in your mental well-being into the future.
There is no question this was very serious criminal offending. The first fire, in particular, caused significant damage and was obviously a major risk to the surrounding areas and communities. You repeated this dangerous conduct, many times, over a number of weeks. It is most fortunate that the main of the other fires did not get out of control, but of course it cannot be overlooked that many emergency personnel resources were engaged in ensuring that did not occur.
I take into account your pleas of guilty, but remorse was not immediately evident. You, in fact, sought to blame your children for some of the fires when you were first questioned by police. Your counsel submits, on your behalf, that such a reaction was simply reflective of the panic and fear you felt when you were confronted about your behaviour. According to Dr O’Donnell, attributing blame to your children is reflective of a defensive psychological state, and is not inconsistent with you having acted in an emotionally driven manner at the time of lighting the fires. Rather, the co-existence of the two apparently inconsistent reactions is reflective of the complexity of some of your mental health difficulties. Your relationship with your son has been damaged because of what you said to police and the ongoing tension is a constant reminder of your wrongdoing. I accept that you now have a deeper appreciation of the seriousness of your conduct and continue to undertake steps to ensure risk factors are minimised.
Given the objective seriousness of these crimes, the only appropriate sentencing options are imprisonment or home detention. I had you assessed as to your suitability for home detention. You are suitable. The report, in my view, is positive and supports the contention that you are sorry for what you did and eager to ensure there is no repetition. I am persuaded that it is appropriate to impose a home detention order. However, because of the seriousness of your offending, I intend on imposing a period of home detention that is far more restrictive, and therefore punitive, than that recommended by the probation officer.
I make the following orders. You are convicted of all crimes to which you have pleaded guilty. I make a Home Detention Order for an operational period of 15 months commencing from tomorrow. That order will include the following conditions:
- you must not commit an offence that is punishable by imprisonment;
- you must reside at the home detention premises of [address redacted] and at all times, be present at those premises unless your absence is approved by a probation officer;
- you must for the duration of the operational period of the order, submit to electronic monitoring and have any electronic monitoring device fitted and comply with all reasonable and lawful directions given to you with respect to the operation and monitoring from such device.
There are also special conditions which will attach to the Home Detention Order. They are as follows:
- You must permit a probation officer, a police officer, or other prescribed officer to enter the home detention premises.
- You must permit a police officer to conduct a search of the premises, conduct a frisk search of you and take a sample of any substance that may be found on the premises or on your person.
- You must submit to electronic monitoring, including the wearing or carrying of an electronic monitoring device.
- You must not remove, tamper with, damage, disable or interfere with the proper functioning of that device or equipment used for the purpose of electronic monitoring.
- You must not allow anyone else to remove, tamper with, damage, disable or interfere with the proper functioning of that device or equipment used for the purpose of electronic monitoring.
- You must comply with all reasonable and lawful directions given to you in relation to the electronic monitoring device, including directions relating to the installation, attachment or operation of the device.
- You must maintain in operating condition an active mobile phone service, provide the contact details to Community Corrections and be accessible for contact through that device at all times.
- You must not take any illicit or prohibited substances.
- You must not take any prescribed medication unless you provide written evidence from your medical practitioner that you have been prescribed that medication.
- You must not during the operational period of the order consume alcohol and you must, if directed to do so by a probation officer, police officer, or community corrections officer, submit to a breath test, urine test or other test for the presence of alcohol.
- You must submit to the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer as and when required by that Officer.
I further order that you present to Community Corrections Devonport by 10am tomorrow for induction into this order. I make a compensation order in favour of Forico Pty Ltd, in the sum of $464,000.