Man pleads not guilty over boarding house fire deaths

A man accused of murdering three others when he burned down the boarding house he used to live at has pleaded not guilty.

Richard Hotoran, 46, is accused of murdering Pankaj Kumar, Alric Vokal, and Peter John Greenwod by setting fire to the dilapidated two-storey boarding house in Sydney's inner west at Newtown in March 2022.

Their charred bodies were found inside.

Eight other men fled the blaze, including a man in his 80s who jumped from the building, suffering a heart attack and injuring his leg, police said at the time.

Investigators initially held grave concerns for a missing fourth man, before charging Hotoran with three murders.

He is also charged with intentionally or recklessly damaging property by fire as well as causing grievous bodily harm with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He pleaded not guilty to all those charges when he was arraigned in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

Hotoran is in custody and will return to court in September.