To thrive as an arsonist, intentionally sparking and routinely being near flames, it takes some cojones.
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An Indiana man apparently took that idiom literally and sacrificed his manhood to spark a house fire in Fort Wayne.
While investigating a stabbing and arson in Fort Wayne, police made the shocking discovery that a man "harmed himself" by cutting off his penis and using it as an igniter to set a garage ablaze.
Christopher Peden, 36, allegedly chopped off his shaft, doused it in gasoline and set the severed organ on fire inside a neighbor's garage, according to court documents.
On May 6, the Fort Wayne Fire Department investigated a fire at a detached garage. Around the same time, police were responding to a reported stabbing, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The property owners of the garage said a neighbor informed them of the fire. Upon assessing the situation, the owners noticed that their relative, Peden, was missing.
Turns out, Peden was being transported to the hospital without a groin.
Arsonist Makes Jarring Confession About Garage Fire
Initially, Peden claimed that he was stabbed in downtown Fort Wayne, resulting in his gruesome injury.
According to court documents, Peden later told investigators he was "dishonest" about the stabbing and "wanted to be truthful."
That's when he made the shocking confession that he used a kitchen knife to slice off his own penis, Fox 59 reported.
Peden is charged with arson, a Level 4 felony. A hearing is scheduled for next week, according to court records.
Peden is not the only man this year to sever his own body to commit a crime.
In May, a Brazilian man allegedly arranged to have his foot amputated in an attempt to defraud multiple personal injury insurance companies.
Hoping to cash in on a $1.5 million payout in insurance claims, Vanderley dos Santos Gomes hired criminals to stage his kidnapping. To make his story more convincing and swindle the insurance company, Gomes requested that they cut off his foot.
Despite sacrificing his foot in the scheme, Gomes' plan to defraud the company was unsuccessful.
After reviewing medical records, the court determined that his amputated foot was removed too cleanly to be the work of untrained criminals.
Plus, the series of insurance purchases shortly before his unusual injury rang alarm bells for police and insurance companies.
Gomes was initially sentenced to two years in prison. This was later changed to 720 hours of community service and a £1,113 fine.
