Inset: Christopher Michael Peden (Allen County Sheriff’s Department). Background: The Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Google Maps).
An Indiana man is facing an unusual arson allegation after authorities say he used his severed genitals to start a fire.
Christopher Michael Peden, 36, has been charged with felony arson, according to the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office.
The case stems from a May 6 fire at a detached garage owned by Peden’s family in Fort Wayne.
That day, the Fort Wayne Fire Department responded to a report of a garage fire, while Fort Wayne police were called separately for a reported stabbing, according to court records obtained by Indianapolis-based NBC affiliate WTHR, Fort Wayne-based ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV affiliate WPTA, and Louisville, Kentucky-based Fox affiliate WDRB.
When officers made contact with Peden, he allegedly claimed he had been stabbed in downtown Fort Wayne after receiving threats the previous day, law enforcement said.
At the fire scene, firefighters interviewed family members who lived in a nearby home, including Peden’s mother and brother, authorities said.
According to court documents, Peden’s brother told investigators that a neighbor woke him to warn him about the blaze. He also said the garage did not have electrical service and that the only fuel source inside was a small gas can used for a lawnmower.
Investigators quickly suspected the alleged stabbing victim was the same person responsible for the garage fire, court documents say.
After police escorted Peden to a nearby hospital, the man confessed to being untruthful with responding officers at the scene of the stabbing and said he wanted to set the record straight about what actually happened, according to charging documents.
The defendant allegedly went on to say that around 2 a.m., he went into the garage with a kitchen knife, cut off his genitals, put the dismembered flesh on the floor, poured gasoline on his severed penis, and set the garage ablaze. Peden said he then left the garage and walked until he ran into police, according to court documents.
Inside the garage, a fire investigator found a kitchen knife, a red plastic gasoline container, and four lighters. Law enforcement did not mention whether the man’s genitals were found.
During an initial hearing on July 2, Peden’s bond was set at $10,000. He posted a surety bond and was released on July 7. The alleged self-castrating man is next slated to appear in court on July 13 and Aug. 31.
