An Indiana arson charge has been laid against a Fort Wayne man accused of mutilating himself and using the severed flesh as kindling to destroy his mother’s detached garage in May, according to court documents and charging records reviewed by local television stations.
Christopher Michael Peden, 36, faces a Level 4 felony arson count filed by the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office. Under Indiana law, a Level 4 felony carries a potential custodial term of up to 12 years, according to Firehouse Digest.
What the Indiana Arson Charge Alleges Happened on 6 May
The underlying incident occurred in the early hours of 6 May at a detached garage belonging to Peden’s mother in Fort Wayne, Indiana. According to court documents cited by Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR, Peden entered the garage at around 2 a.m. carrying a kitchen knife.
He allegedly cut off his own genitals, placed the tissue on the garage floor, poured petrol on it, and set the building alight. He then left the scene on foot and walked until he encountered police officers.
The Fort Wayne Fire Department and the Fort Wayne Police Department were dispatched to two separate calls that morning: one to a garage fire, and one to a reported stabbing. When officers reached Peden, he initially claimed he had been stabbed in downtown Fort Wayne after being threatened the day before.
Investigators grew suspicious quickly. Peden’s brother, who lived in a nearby house on the same property as the garage, told police a neighbour had woken him to report the fire. He added that the garage had no electrical supply and that the sole fuel source on the premises was a small can of petrol kept for a lawnmower.
Hospital Confession and Evidence at the Scene
After officers transported Peden to hospital, he retracted his earlier account and said he wanted to correct the record, according to charging documents. He then provided the version of events described above.
A fire investigator examining the garage subsequently recovered a kitchen knife, a red plastic petrol container, and four lighters. Charging documents do not record whether Peden’s genitals were located at the scene.
Fort Wayne-based WPTA, which first reported the court documents alongside WTHR, confirmed the sequence of dual emergency calls on the morning in question.
Peden appeared before a judge on 2 July, when his bond was set at $10,000. He posted a surety bond and was released on 7 July. Further court dates are scheduled for 13 July and 31 August.
Subject to any amendment of the charge or plea entered at those hearings, the Level 4 felony count will proceed through the Allen County courts. The maximum 12-year exposure the charge carries will fall to be weighed against any mitigating circumstances Peden’s defence advances at sentencing, if the matter reaches that stage.
