Christopher Peden, 36, entered his mother’s garage in Fort Wayne, Indiana, after 2 a.m. in May. He was carrying a kitchen knife.
Minutes later, firefighters received a report of a fire at that address. At the same time, police responded to a stabbing report downtown. Peden told officers that someone had stabbed him and that he had received threats the previous day.
At the hospital, he changed his story. He confessed to an officer that he had lied at the scene and wanted to tell the truth. He had cut off his genitals with the knife, doused them with gasoline, and set them on fire inside the garage before leaving to look for police. At the scene, investigators found a gasoline container, four lighters, and the knife. Court records do not specify whether the organ was found. Peden faces a Level 4 arson charge, which carries up to 12 years in prison, and will return to court next week to set a trial date.
