A man reportedly set his home on fire days before it was set to be sold to stop his wife from getting her half share amid a bitter divorce.
75-year-old John McCorry from Exeter, England, attempted to burn his home to the ground just days before the house was set to be sold.
As Exeter Crown Court heard, John and his estranged wife had lived in the home for 20 years. Amid bitter divorce, however, the house was set to be sold for over $750,000.
In order to “stop his estranged wife [who lives elsewhere] getting her half share in their divorce,” McCorry set his home alight with a blowtorch.
“I’m watching it burn,” the elderly man allegedly told one of his neighbors after starting the fire.
The court also heard how the pensioner blocked his wife from removing her stuff from the home prior to starting the fire. He also gave her his dog to make sure no harm would come to it.
Fortunately, the first responders managed to put out the fire before it could spread to nearby gas canisters and result in a devastating explosion.
As it happens, the home did not have active fire insurance because the 75-year-old has stopped paying for it on his own accord.
Following the June 2020 fire, which consumed a good portion of the house and destroyed the roof, the home could no longer be sold for $750,000. The house, however, was recently sold for $450,000.
“I did not want a divorce. I was not seeking a divorce. I did not want to move out of the house. That came from her end. I was not angry, I was upset,” McCorry said of his bitter divorce battle.
“My home life was coming apart. She had relations and children and grandchildren. I had nothing and nowhere to go. I thought I would end up in a bed and breakfast.
“If the sale had gone through, I was due more than a quarter of a million but I didn’t have a clue when I was going to get the money.”
Meanwhile, Judge Keith Cutler dismissed claims that the fire was an accident as he suggested it was clear the husband had started it.
“This is a very sad case. It may be that the drink he had taken brought on a maudlin and depressed mood and he was thinking about leaving the house he had known and loved,” he said.
“He felt resentment about it all. This was a fire started deliberately out of animosity towards his ex-wife with the intention of burning the property down.
“It may have been inspired by him being depressed, but that is what he did and that is why he was in the garden watching the house burn down.”
While the sentencing has been delayed until August, the 75-year-old is expected to be jailed for the offense.
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