Overview
- Police say Christopher Peden entered his mother’s detached garage on May 6, used a kitchen knife to cut off his genitals, poured gasoline on the tissue and set it on fire on the garage floor.
- Fire investigators recovered a red gasoline container, four lighters and a kitchen knife and reported heavy damage to the garage plus damage to two nearby homes and two vehicles.
- Prosecutors charged Peden with one count of Level 4 felony arson, he posted a $10,000 bond and public records show he is no longer in custody.
- Peden initially told officers he had been stabbed downtown but later told investigators at the hospital that he had been dishonest and admitted to harming himself; his attorney says he is evaluating Peden’s mental state.
- Key facts remain unresolved in public records, including any motive for the act and whether investigators recovered the severed tissue, and a hearing to set trial dates is scheduled for the week of July 13.