An Indiana man cut off his genitals and lit them on fire in his mother’s garage, cops say..
Christopher Peden, 36, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been charged with arson, public court records show. If convicted of the felony charge, Peden faces up to 12 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
The alleged incident unfolded on May 6, when the Fort Wayne Fire Department responded to reports of a fire in a detached garage after the owners’ neighbors woke them up and alerted them to the blaze, according to court documents reviewed by FOX 59.
Around the same time, Fort Wayne police officers found Peden, who claimed he was stabbed in the city’s downtown area after being threatened the day before, the documents said. But after being taken to the hospital, Peden reportedly admitted to investigators that he was “dishonest” and he “wanted to be truthful.”
The documents said Peden told investigators he “harmed himself” by cutting off his genitals with a kitchen knife and used gasoline to “set it on fire on the floor of the garage just inside the door,” according to FOX 59.
When police investigated, they found a gasoline container, four lighters and a kitchen knife at the scene.
Peden’s mother and brother, who live on the property, told investigators the garage only stored a gas container for the lawnmower and did not have electricity, according to an affidavit reviewed by WRTV. The fire reportedly damaged two nearby properties and two vehicles.
Fire investigators said they recovered a gas container, four lighters and a knife from the scene, WRTV reports.
Peden paid a $10,000 bond on Tuesday and is expected back in court early next week, according to public records.
His attorney, David Felts, told The Independent he was recently retained and hasn’t had a chance to speak with Peden yet. When asked about Peden’s response to the allegations against him, Felts said he has “no comment.”