Peter Moiler charged, wife with serious burns after Mt Helena car fire

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Neighbours who ran to help a woman allegedly set on fire by her estranged husband on Friday evening have relived the horrific moment they heard her screams and watched her peel off burning clothes.

The 33-year-old mother was heard yelling "help me, help me" as she ran from a burning car parked on the corner of Honey Street and Mill End in the Perth Hills suburb of Mount Helena just after 6pm.

Police allege she was deliberately set on fire by Peter John Moiler, 42, who has been arrested and charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm and appeared in Midland Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning indicating he would be applying for bail. He appeared via video link from Hakea Prison and had what looked like burn marks to his neck.

A woman who lives on Mill End near where the incident took place said she believed the victim had recently moved into a nearby property with her children after the breakdown of her marriage.

The couple has three young children, who are currently in the care of grandparents.

"I saw what I thought was a bonfire and then heard a massive explosion," another neighbour said.

"Then I heard this woman's voice coming down this way, screaming for help.

"She was standing in the creek, obviously in huge amounts of pain, terribly frightened."

Neighbours said the woman had peeled off all her clothes and was screaming "help me, help me".

"I took her up to the house and kept the hose on her until emergency services arrived," the neighbour said.

"She was terribly burnt all over and must have ripped all of her clothes off running down here."

The woman's estranged husband, Peter Moiler (inset), is accused of causing ‘life-changing injuries’ to the mother-of-three in a suspected domestic violence attack.

The neighbour said she kept "reliving" the incident over and over and was kept awake at night thinking about it.

Another neighbour who lived nearby said it had rocked the small country town of Mount Helena.

"The explosion was that loud, the windows of our house shook," she said.

"I thought it was a gas cylinder going off. Then we saw the fire and could hear her screaming.

"We were in shock, the fact that we could hear so much screaming. A lot of people that don't even know her are saying ‘how can we help, what can we do?’"

Inspector Glen Beros, Midland District Office.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt

After the incident, police said the woman had suffered "life-changing burns" to almost 40 per cent of her body, including her face, arms, upper torso and lap.

She was rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment where she remains in the ICU in an induced coma.

Moiler also received burns during the incident and was also treated at Fiona Stanley Hospital before being released into police custody on Saturday afternoon.

Both Moiler and the woman were married but separated, police said, as they investigated what they called a family violence case.

"The investigation is still in its infancy and as with all family violence investigations, they are complex and we want to be very thorough to work through this, so we are trying to gather as much information as we can," Midland Police Inspector Glen Beros said on Saturday.

WA Police said they were called to a car fire around 6.20pm in the town, later discovering two people with burns.

"It's tragic," Beros said.

"A young woman has got significant burns to her body, which is going to take a long time to treat and then the rest of her life she will be impacted by that.

"The community members that were on the scene immediately, they’re going to be affected by what they saw, as will the family of this young lady and the extended families outside of that.

"There is no suggestion that anyone else was involved, however, as part of these investigations we will be looking at any incidents that may have contributed in the lead up to this, any other incidents involving family violence that may have occurred."

A car that was found at the scene was "extensively damaged", with forensics officers towing it away for further examination.

Moiler was taken to the same hospital as his estranged wife but was later released into police custody.

He is due to appear in court again next month.

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.