The West Coast Eagles champion and brother to Sam Kerr has been jailed after setting his parents’ house on fire.
Daniel Kerr, who played 220 AFL games and won the Premier League with the Eagles, was charged with arson damage and appeared in Perth District Court.
The court heard that on February 17, 2021, Kerr, 40, drove to the family home in Kardinya, set the back rooms on fire and then drove off while yelling and waving his hand out the driver’s window. The house was empty at that time.
Kerr’s attorney, Kate Turtley-Chappel, told the court that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia while in detention.
The former soccer star caused nearly $250,000 worth of property damage and was arrested at his car wash an hour after the incident, where he told officers he had no memory of driving there.
Sam Kerr’s brother Daniel (left) has been sentenced to two years in prison for setting his parents’ house on fire
Daniel Kerr (L) won an AFL premier championship with the West Coast Eagles while his younger sister Sam (R) plays football for Chelsea and the Matildas
The prosecution described the act as “nonsensical and chaotic”.
Kerr has been through a checkered relationship with his younger superstar sister, Sam Kerr, one of the leading names in women’s football.
After retiring in 2013, he had a documented struggle with alcohol and drugs, culminating in a five-day prison sentence after violating a violent restraining order.
His family initially refused to post his $5,000 bail, and the siblings didn’t speak a word for two years after the ordeal.
“I haven’t spoken to him in two years,” Sam Kerr said in 2020.
“Our whole family is close, but Daniel and I are very close … He’s always like, ‘That got me back on the street that everyone but you talked to me.’”
“I just needed reassurance that everything would go back to normal.”
Kerr was arrested in 2021 for the incident, which caused $250,000 in damages
“That’s what hurt me the most… When you do things that affect you, it affects other people too.”
“I’ve had to watch mom and dad get stressed about their 30-year-old son, which isn’t normal and it hit me.” I don’t let things bother me, but seeing my parents have to deal with it was likely the hardest part.”
Daniel has previously opened up about how Sam’s tough love was the nudge he needed to “behave and get my family back” before the February 2021 incident.
