A 47-year-old woman has been charged with murdering her ex-housemate in the New South Wales Riverina region.
Police allege Jennifer Louise Hay set fire to a lounge outside a Wagga Wagga home last year after a "falling out" with the two women who lived inside.
Emergency crews were called to the home on Tichborne Crescent in Kooringal around 6:15am on February 25, 2019.
One woman, 41, woke to the smell of smoke and escaped unhurt, but the body of another woman, 36, was found inside.
Detective Inspector Adrian Telfer said after a 15-month investigation, Ms Hay had been charged with murder and endangering the life of the other occupant.
"We will allege to the court that at one point they were living together, but obviously there was a fairly significant falling out and we're making an allegation that obviously there was a retaliation," he said.
"We do allege that this was targeted. It wasn't over money, it was a personal dispute."
Detective Inspector Telfer said the incident had also taken a toll on the woman who escaped the fire.
"We must not forget there is another victim in this matter, who was a 41-year-old female who was in that house at that time," he said.
"Her life has been turned upside down by this incident."
Ms Hay was denied bail in Wagga Wagga Local Court and will reappear on July 22.
