Phoenix man accused of killing family tells court he attempted to take own life
Updated | By Nushera Soodyal
Wednesday marked day two of the murder trial of Kista Chetty, the man accused of killing his wife and children in their Phoenix home.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder in the Durban High Court on Tuesday.
It's alleged that Chetty set fire to his flat in November 2021 after an argument with his wife and brother-in-law.
Chetty pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, Elisha Naidoo, his 13-year-old daughter, Jadene, two of their sons, Jordan and Aldrin and their nephew, Aarav.
He also pleaded not guilty to six attempted murder charges for residents who managed to escape from the premises and a charge of arson.
According to his plea statement, he claimed that on the day of the incident, he had an argument with his brother-in-law Deon which led to a physical altercation, and he was assaulted.
Chetty said he left home to cool down.
After a few drinks, he returned home at around 1am.
Chetty said he walked to his bedroom and told his wife Deon was causing problems in their relationship.
He said he told her that he was better off dead.
Chetty, who's a grasscutter, claimed he emptied petrol from a container he used for his brush-cutter and emptied the liquid onto his clothes and chest.
He said he went to his bedroom and set his clothes on fire with a lighter but took his shirt off when he heard his wife scream.
He claimed his clothing landed on the petrol container, which then exploded.
Chetty insisted that he kept telling his wife and children to get out, but they just stood in the room and continued to scream.
The first witness to be called to the stand was Chetty's brother-in-law, Deon, who confirmed that there had been an altercation between the two.
He told the court that on the day of the incident, Chetty, who he calls Sagie, and Elisha went out and had gotten into an argument - which continued when they returned home.
Deon said he got involved after Chetty became violent with Elisha.
Deon added he fell asleep on the couch that night but woke up to see flames spewing out of the bedroom when Chetty opened the door.
He said they both tried to get water to put out the fire but that did not help.
Deon said he went to the back of the house and tried to get into the room through a window but all he could hear was screaming, until there was silence.

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