‘Irrational fears’ led to Lyttelton arson
The man who burnt down his father’s house told police that he thought people who were “after him” had killed his father instead, and he wanted to rid the property of evil energy.
Bradley Gordon Schenkel, a 29-year-old builder was sentenced to home detention in the Christchurch District Court after admitting a charge of the arson of his father’s house in Lyttelton in a spectacular blaze in May.
Defence counsel Steve Hembrow said Schenkel had bursts of memory from that time, but no clear memory.
He was getting increasingly unwell after he was made redundant, and lost the routine in his day, he said.
Schenkel’s family were trying to get help for him, and he was going to the hospital but getting agitated and leaving before he was assessed.
He went to his father’s house and tried to sleep after five days without rest. He saw his father’s wallet in the house, and thought as his father didn’t go anywhere without it, and he must be dead.
He decided to get rid of the “evil energy”, knew no-one was there, and set fire to the house.
Mr Hembrow said Schenkel was angry with himself and felt ashamed. He had attended a restorative justice meeting with his father which had been very positive.
Judge Raoul Neave said the circumstances were extremely unusual, and Schenkel was lucky he didn’t end up killing himself.
He said the offending was in part driven by irrational fears and beliefs, but Schenkel had no psychiatric defence. His sleep deprivation, use of methamphetamine, and mental illness, all contributed to the exceptionally flawed decision making.
There was no premeditation or planning, and the restorative justice meeting helped a long way towards restoring the health of the family, Judge Neave said.
He sentenced Schenkel to nine months’ home detention in Motueka, and ordered that he maintain his medication regime, and his relationship with the mental health services.
The fire completely destroyed a two-storey house on the corner of Harmans Road and Bridle Path Road on May 30, and sent flames shooting 12m into the air.
Category: News
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