A Perth mother is fighting for her life in hospital with severe burns to most of her body after residents discovered her on fire and running to a nearby creek in the Perth hills on Friday night.
Neighbours in Mount Helena said they heard horrific screaming and rushed to assist the 33-year-old woman, who suffered burns to her face, arms, upper torso and lap in the Perth hills suburb of Mount Helena on Friday evening.
Her estranged husband, Peter Moiler, has been charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm and briefly appeared in court on Sunday following an investigation into what caused the fire.
The 42-year-old man remains in custody.
Midland police inspector Glen Beros said the incident was being treated as 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," he said on Saturday.
WA Police said they were called to a car fire around 6.20pm near the corner of Honey Street and Mill End in Mount Helena, later discovering two people with burns.
The woman was flown to Fiona Stanley Hospital by the emergency RAC helicopter where she remains in an induced coma with what Beros called "serious, life-changing injuries".
"It's tragic," he 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."
The couple's three young children are safe and being cared for by grandparents.
A car that was found at the scene, near the couple's home, 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 on Tuesday.
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