R v Kerfoot [2026] NSWDC 332

R v Kerfoot [2026] NSWDC 332 concerns a judge-alone circumstantial prosecution for recklessly destroying by fire an unoccupied house at 69 Bligh Street, South Grafton. The central issue was identity: whether the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mitchell Kerfoot was the person captured entering and leaving the property around the time of the fire. Newlinds SC DCJ held that the cumulative effect of CCTV, gait and clothing, digital evidence, a Metallica beanie containing Kerfoot’s DNA, and his false account of his route home excluded reasonable alternatives. Expert evidence supported deliberate ignition using an ignitable liquid. The Court found Kerfoot guilty on the single count.