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Sauna victim's husband evicted
Man 'distraught' at being forced to leave family home
Exclusive
By Bruce Smith
A MAN whose wife was murdered in an arson attack on a Leeds sauna four weeks ago has been ordered to leave the council house they shared.
Speaking publicly for the first time since Samantha Pithie's murder, Christian Pithie said he was distraught at being refused the tenancy of the house on the Cardinal estate at Beeston.
He would be unable to bring home his devastated step-daughter Coral, 13 and also faced losing the family's two dogs and two cats.
"After Samantha was killed I thought things could not get worse and now they are doing this to me," said unemployed gardener, Christian, 32.
"That house has been our home for six years. It is the only part of Samantha I have left. It is not a mess, I have fixed it up. I had planned that Coral would gradually return to live there. I can't face losing her and our dogs, Storm and Phoebe and our cats, the three legged Marmaduke and Ginger."
Mrs Pithie died in the early hours of September 1 when an arsonist set fire to the Girl Talk sauna in Bexley Mount, Harehills, where she worked as a receptionist.
She is believed to have died from smoke inhalation while staying overnight, to avoid the costs and risks of travelling home late, said Mr Pithie.
The hunt for her murderer is still continuing.
Promised
Mr Pithie said he had applied to have the house tenancy transferred. He supplied documentation, promised to pay off the 2,500 rent arrears and thought the transfer would go ahead.
But yesterday a council note through the letterbox told him the council would take possession and seal the house today.
Mr Pithie said Council staff claimed neighbours had accused him of "violent and anti-social" behaviour, but he vehemently denied the allegation.
He admitted that on a few occasions police had asked him to leave the home after rows. He had gone and returned the following day with Samantha's agreement.
Neighbours had tried to get an Anti-Social Behaviour Order against them because of their dog barking. Samantha had applied for a house transfer, but had decided to remain close to her daughter's school and shops.
His mother-in-law who was caring for Coral had defended him against the allegations and he would fight the tenancy refusal, he said.
Mr Pithie spoke of the "full of life, absolutely brilliant" wife he had first met locally as a child. They were not close, but years later "clicked" when she moved next door in Disraeli Terrace,Beeston, with her son Jordan and daughter in 1998.
They started going out and married at Leeds Register Office on August 12 2000, two weeks after becoming engaged. Later Samantha applied to the council for a move and they got the three-bedroom house at Beeston with its large garden.
He said that Samantha was a "very caring" person and loved cats and dogs. She had worked for the RSPCA , as a care assistant at an people's home and for the charity MENCAP.
"Yes, we had some domestic arguments, what couples don't? Samantha would not back down and I would not back down. A few times the police were called and they would escort me off the premises. I would spend a night at mum's and go back the next day," he recalled.
"Our relationship was brilliant 90 per cent of the time. But ten per cent it was a mad house," he said.
Some months ago she broke her leg in a DIY accident. He added: "She was terrified of walking through the Harehills area after finishing work at 10pm. She did not want to waste money on taxis and the sauna owner had agreed she could stay overnight. It was the first night she had done it."
bruce.a.smith@ypn.co.uk
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Friday 25 May 2012
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