Christopher Peden, 36, was charged with arson after police say he started a garage fire at his mother’s detached property on May 6 in Fort Wayne. Police say he told them he cut off his penis with a kitchen knife, poured gasoline on it, and set it on fire.
The fire damaged the garage, two additional properties and two vehicles. Peden is due in Allen County court on Monday, giving the case its next procedural step after the arrest and filing of charges.
Fort Wayne garage fire details
Peden told police he went to the garage around 2 a.m. and started the fire on the floor just inside the door. The garage had no electricity and held only a small gas can for the lawnmower, which narrowed the scene to a few items that investigators later documented.
Officials found a red gasoline container, four BIC lighters and a knife at the property. Peden’s mother and brother lived at the home, placing the damage within a residence where other family members were present even though the garage itself was detached.
Allen County case against Peden
Peden’s brother reported that Christopher Peden was nowhere to be found after the fire. Police later found an injured Peden in downtown Fort Wayne after he claimed he had been stabbed, and medics rushed him to a hospital for treatment.
At the hospital, Peden told police he was dishonest about the stabbing and said he wanted to be truthful. Police then connected him to the garage fire during the stabbing investigation and moved from a missing-person-style report to an arson case tied to the May 6 fire.
Peden and the investigation
The sequence leaves investigators with a physical fire scene, a hospital interview and a defendant who admitted the stabbing account was false. What remains in focus now is the arson charge itself and the court appearance in Allen County, where the state’s case will begin to move through the system.
