{"id":48088,"date":"2026-07-10T11:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T11:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/48088\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T11:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T11:51:20","slug":"indiana-man-charged-after-allegedly-cutting-off-penis-and-using-it-to-light-mothers-garage-on-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/48088\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana man charged after allegedly cutting off penis and using it to light mother\u2019s garage on fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">An early morning house fire quickly turned into a memorable call for US emergency services after a man\u2019s penis was found to be behind the blaze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">American man Christopher Peden is facing up to 12 years in jail after allegedly cutting off his penis and using it to set his mother\u2019s garage on fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Emergency services were called to the Indiana home on May 6 following reports of a blaze tearing through a garage shortly after 5am.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Two occupants fled the house after neighbours knocked to warn them of the fire, with local media have identifying the pair as a mother and her son.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The mother\u2019s second child, Peden, was discovered to be missing from the home when the duo raced outside.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a53d089e468d9648576705aaa5ce603bcdd6864b.jpg\" alt=\"While firefighters dealt with the blaze, Fort Wayne police were called to a stabbing.\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconWhile firefighters dealt with the blaze, Fort Wayne police were called to a stabbing. Credit: Fort Wayne Police Department<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">At the same time firefighters were battling the blaze, Fort Wayne police officers responded to reports of a stabbing \u2014 with the victim discovered to be the missing man.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Officers rushed 36-year-old Peden to the hospital for treatment, with the man initially telling detectives he had been stabbed in downtown Fort Wayne after being threatened by an unknown man.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">While receiving treatment for his wounds, however, the man confessed the grisly truth to law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">According to <a class=\"css-445i33-StyledTextLink ezegcyi0\" data-link-type=\"article-inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wthr.com\/article\/news\/crime\/court-docs-fort-wayne-man-setting-fire-severed-genitals-inside-mothers-garage-christopher-peden\/531-e864cad3-3943-40c5-bfdd-184bdc8d57b8\">local media<\/a>, Peden told Fort Wayne detectives he had \u201charmed himself\u201d in the garage by \u201ccutting off his penis\u201d with a kitchen knife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">He then allegedly poured gasoline over his dismembered genitals before setting it on fire near the entrance, sparking the home blaze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">He told police he then left the property, with the man walking the streets until law enforcement found him.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/16d8ef2a7ecc01fb933ecf82d4cd1186e8347555.jpg\" alt=\"Christopher Peden has since been charged with one count of felony arson over the blaze. \" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconChristopher Peden has since been charged with one count of felony arson over the blaze.  Credit: Allen County Sherrif&#8217;s Office<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Fire officials at the Northwood Boulevard property discovered several pieces of evidence at the scene, including a red gasoline container, four lighters, and the kitchen knife allegedly used by Peden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Court records have not detailed whether officials found Peden\u2019s severed genitals at the scene.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The fire caused heavy damage to the domicile\u2019s garage, with court documents stating the blaze also caused damage to two additional homes and two cars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The Allen County Prosecutor\u2019s Office has since charged the 36-year-old with one count of felony arson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">He is due back in court next Monday for a hearing over the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An early morning house fire quickly turned into a memorable call for US emergency services after a man\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[35301,16365,312,227,152,2004,335,7016,224],"class_list":["post-48088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-americas-usa","tag-canada","tag-crime","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-offbeat","tag-perth","tag-south-america","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}