David Cartledge pleads guilty to arson causing death over Red Cliffs fire
David Cartledge has admitted to burning down a house on Indi Avenue in Red Cliffs. (ABC Mildura-Swan Hill: Peter Sanders)
In short:
Red Cliffs man David Cartledge, 38, has pleaded guilty to arson causing death over a 2023 fire that killed David Butler.
Cartledge had pleaded not guilty to murder and arson causing death in a previous trial that was later abandoned due to witness unavailability.
What's next?
Cartledge will return to court later this year for a plea hearing.
A north-west Victorian man has admitted to lighting a fire that killed his housemate in February 2023.
Red Cliffs resident David Cartledge, 38, last week appeared in the Supreme Court and pleaded guilty to one charge of arson causing death.
At the time of the fire, Cartledge lived with three housemates on Indi Avenue in Red Cliffs, just south of Mildura.
One of the residents, 52-year-old David Butler, died when the home burnt to the ground on February 26, 2023.
Cartledge faced trial before a Supreme Court jury in February after pleading not guilty to one charge of murder and one count of arson causing Mr Butler's death.
The trial was abandoned when a key witness was unable to attend.
David Butler died inside the house that was occupied by four people. (ABC Mildura-Swan Hill: Peter Sanders)
That trial heard Cartledge had allegedly confessed to a friend that he had burnt the house down with someone inside.
A new trial was scheduled to begin this week, before Cartledge pleaded guilty to arson causing death on August 18.
He has remained on remand since the abandoned trial, having failed in an attempt to secure bail in April.
Cartledge will return to court in December for a plea hearing.