A man has been arrested for setting his home on fire because he did not want to clean up his new puppy’s poo.
He then set up a GoFundMe campaign to get good Samaritans to help pay for the mess he had created.
Officials say that Randy Nethken, 32, of Mabie, in the US state of West Virginia, was “upset with the puppy for defecating all over the house” and decided to set the house on fire instead of cleaning up the mess.
The incident took place on 7th October, with Nethken originally telling 911 dispatchers that the blaze had started in the attic, according to local media.
But after firefighters arrived on the scene, they found that the blaze had originated in different parts of the house.
Officials said that there were “multiple separate and distinct non-communicating fires”.
Fire investigators determined that the blazes had been set intentionally and confronted Nethken.
He then admitted that he had “intentionally entered the attic willfully and intentionally utilized a match to set three fires”, according to officials.
Officials allege that he “set the fires in the bathroom because he was upset with the puppy for defecating all over the house.”
Nethken, after realising what he had done, then set up a now-inactive GoFundMe campaign to “help pay for the damage” because he “didn’t really have a lot of money”.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the West Virginia (WV) State Fire Marshal on 20th October saying they had arrested a man “in Randolph County on first-degree arson charges”.
The statement said: “A Randolph County man has been arrested by WV State Fire Marshal investigators after allegedly setting fire to a residential home.
“Randy Allen Nethken, 32 years old of Mabie, WV, was arrested and taken into custody without
incident on 18th October 2023 at approximately 1:50 pm, by the WVSFMO with assistance from the WV State Police. Nethken has been charged with first-degree arson for the setting of multiple fires to a residential dwelling located on Ryan Run Road in Mabie on October 6, 2023.
“Nethken is currently being held on a USD 20,000.00 cash-only bond at the Tygart Valley Region Jail.”
The investigation is ongoing.
