A man allegedly poured petrol under the door of a toilet after his wife had locked herself in during a domestic dispute, before setting her alight causing burns which killed her, sources have told the NT Independent.

In a media statement on Sunday calling for witnesses, Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Schumacher said the woman died on Sunday sometime before 3.45pm, after the house fire in the Hidden Valley town camp in Alice Springs about 11pm on Friday night, which they described as a domestic violence incident.

He said the alleged offender was being treated for burns from the fire.

“This woman’s death was a needless tragedy. Detectives are now treating this domestic violence case as a homicide,” he said.

There was no more information provided to the public, but sources have told the NT Independent police were alerted to the fire after a neighbour saw two people in the house on fire, saying they made it out of the house and were lying on the ground.

Several sources said the woman described to police how she locked herself in the toilet and her partner poured petrol under the door. They said the woman refused to open the door so the man set her on fire.

One source said the only parts not burned were the palms of her hands, the soles of her feet and her bottom. She was intubated in hospital, the source said.

While a fourth source told the NT Independent her burns were too severe for her flown to Adelaide.

NT Police media manager Rob Cross did not answer the NT Independent’s questions about the incident.

Police have not said whether the man has been charged. It’s understood he is also in Adelaide recovering from burns.

Anyone with information can call police on 131 444 or report the information anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic and family violence, you can call police at any time on 131 444 or in an emergency call triple-0.