A Sydney man charged with lighting a fatal nursing home fire has chosen not to attend his court hearing on murder charges.
Roger Dean was a nurse at the home at the time of the fire on Friday last week at Quakers Hill in west Sydney.
Two of the nursing home's 60 residents died in their rooms and seven others have since died of their injuries.
Several others remain in hospital, the ABC reports.
At Thursday's court hearing, 35-year-old Dean was charged with a total of eight counts of murder and the matter was adjourned until February to give police time to prepare a brief of evidence against him.
The accused remains in custody.
