A man has been jailed after pouring petrol over his wife and trying to set fire to her.
Vytis Grigatitis, 44, hit his wife round the face and caused her to fall to the floor before dragging her towards a wheelie bin.
He then took out a bottle of bleach and poured it over her head as well as emptying the contents of a container of petrol over her body.
Grigatitis kept hold of the victim with one hand while he tried to spark up a lighter, which failed to ignite.
Ipswich Crown Court heard how a friend of the victim managed to intervene and break her free of Grigatitis, before locking themselves inside the house.
Grigatitis poured fuel over himself and set himself alight before managing to extinguish himself partially on a tree as a neighbour put out the flames.
Emergency services were called to the couple’s home in Ipswich, Suffolk, where ambulance crews took Grigatitis was taken to a specialist burns unit.
He was found to have sustained 60 per cent burns to his body, while his wife sustained pain to her jaw but no other lasting injuries.
The court heard the incident occurred on October 11 after Grigatitis called his wife at work asking her to come home as he needed to discuss some matters with her.
The couple were experiencing marital difficulties at the time and he grew angry when his wife arrived home with a male friend.
Grigatitis tried to punch the man and then chased after him, but he was not able to catch him.
Subsequent police enquiries discovered that Grigatitis had bought the petrol at a nearby garage 15 minutes after the phone call to his wife had ended.
The court heard he put the petrol and the bleach in the wheelie bin outside prior to the victim’s return, indicating that he wanted to have it close to hand and he planned to use it against her.
Grigatitis pleaded guilty to attempted murder at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday.
He was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment and issued with a restraining order lasting 15 years.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Power of Suffolk Police said: “This was an horrendous and premeditated attack, which could have resulted in the victim being killed or suffering terrible injuries.
“Vytis Grigatitis was clearly intent on inflicting this level of harm on his wife, as he took just 15 minutes after ending the phone conversation to go and buy the petrol he would later use in the attack, concealing it in the bin before she returned home.
“The whole ordeal must have been terrifying for the victim, who has been very brave in working with us throughout our enquiries.
“Due to the nature of their relationship, this was always going to be a very challenging and complex investigation.
“Our detectives worked extremely hard to obtain justice for her and I particularly want to acknowledge the efforts of Detective Constable Iain Forbes who, as the lead investigator, was instrumental in compiling a case against Grigatitis and achieving a guilty plea, which in turn spared the victim from having to endure the rigours of a trial.”
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