Maliciously burned, Hector sadly died (7)

I believe the answer is:

torched

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'maliciously burned' is the definition.
'torched' can be an answer for 'burned' (torching is a kind of burning). I am unsure of the 'maliciously' bit.

'hector sadly died' is the wordplay.
'sadly' is an anagram indicator.
'died' becomes 'd'.
'hector' anagrammed gives 'torche'.
'torche'+'d'='TORCHED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for torched that I've seen before include "burnt" , "Set alight deliberately (slang)" , "Set fire to" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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