The hunt for two “gutless” arsonists who killed an innocent woman in a case of mistaken identity has been ramped up after the blaze was linked to Victoria’s tobacco wars.

Katie Tangey, 27, died after arsonists hit the wrong address while she was house-sitting her brother’s home in Truganina, in Melbourne’s west, early on January 16.

On Tuesday, Victoria Police arson and explosives squad detective inspector Chris Murray said police wanted to speak to the “faceless, gutless individuals” responsible for the blaze.

“We want some names to those faces,” he said.

“What we do know is this, people will talk.

“These two individuals will have family, they’ll have friends, they’ll have criminal associates. And what I would say to them is, have a conscience …do the right thing.

“She suffered such a horrible fate. She didn’t deserve to die.”

Murray vowed to get justice for Tangey and her family.

“Katie Tangey, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a beloved member of her community, has needlessly lost her life in this senseless and despicable incident, which we are investigating as a deliberate act,” he said.

“The violence that we have seen from these organised crime syndicates and this relentless drive for profits above all else has resulted in this incident.

“It could be described as nothing less than a flagrant disregard for human life.

“This is the type of crime even the most hardened criminal would be disgusted with.”

The Hoppers Crossing woman, a popular burlesque performer, called emergency services for help but did not survive the blaze.

She, along with the family’s golden retriever, died at the scene and the three-storey townhouse was destroyed.

Investigations over the past month have led police to believe the arson attack was likely linked to Victoria’s illicit tobacco trade wars.
A dark coloured vehicle – similar to a BMW X3 – was captured on CCTV travelling north on Forsyth Road in Truganina at 2.12am on January 16.

A home security camera captured the moment the house was engulfed before two men, one carrying what appears to be a jerry can, fled the scene.

At the time of the arson, Tangey’s mother Tracey said the blaze devastated the family, including her son and his wife who were on their honeymoon when tragedy struck.

“My son and daughter-in-law have lost everything they own, their sister, their dog Sunny … we will never be the same again,” she wrote on Instagram.

“l need to wrap my love around them … thank you all, she would have been so humbled by all your love.”

Also on Tuesday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan offered her sympathies to Tangey’s family.

Parliament passed legislation in late 2024 to introduce a tobacco licensing scheme in Victoria to quell the tobacco wars.

“There has been an increase in the importation of illegal tobacco into the country,” Allan said.

“[Australian Federal Police] have been taking actions to strengthen the response at the borders and we are taking action within the state borders to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade.”

The scheme, which will mean only licensed retailers can sell tobacco products and includes a “strict” fit-and-proper-persons test, is to be rolled out from the middle of 2025.

-AAP