Man Arrested After Cutting Off His Penis and Starting Fire With It

FORT WAYNE, IN — A 36-year-old Indiana man has been charged with arson after he allegedly cut off his own penis with a kitchen knife, poured gasoline on the severed organ and used it to set fire inside a neighbor’s garage, according to police and court documents. 

Christopher Peden is accused of committing the act May 6 inside the garage in Fort Wayne. He poured gasoline on his severed genitals and “set it on fire on the floor of the garage just inside the door,” the documents state. 

Peden initially told police he had been slashed in the city’s downtown area. He later admitted to investigators that he had been “dishonest” about the stabbing and said he “wanted to be truthful,” according to court records. 

Investigators collected a red plastic gas container, four lighters and a kitchen knife from the garage as evidence. 

Peden is due in court next week.