A 38-year-old man from Helvoirt, who was accused of setting fire to his neighbour’s house, has been acquitted. The arson happened last April and the suspect and his neighbors had been arguing with each other for years. Lawyer Paul Verweijen was of the opinion that his client should go free. The court in Breda agrees with this, it turned out on Thursday.
According to the judge, the suspect behaved suspiciously at his home that evening. There are “strong indications” that he was involved in the fire, but it cannot be “legally and convincingly” proven that he actually started the fire. No one was injured in the fire, however.
‘More than just a fight’
The two neighbors live on Jorisakkerstraat in a semi-detached house. The judge cited in his ruling that they “have been arguing for a number of years” and “that things would also have happened that go further than an ‘ordinary’ quarrel.” For example, the neighbors’ koi carp were poisoned.
According to the prosecutor, the suspect continued that night. Gasoline was sprayed against a wooden extension and a party tent and then set on fire. According to justice, only the 38-year-old man could have done that. On camera images you can see how he is busy with a jerry can.
Many questions about the cause of the fire
The judge stated that the investigation into the cause did not make it clear when exactly and where the fire started. It also cannot be ruled out that the fire started in a way other than by (deliberate) arson, as stated in the ruling.
The fire started at the back of the house at 17 Jorisakkerstraat in Helvoirt. The fire spread to the adjacent house at number 19, where the suspect lives with his partner. He was also upstairs when the fire started, his lawyer gave as an alibi. He has also consistently denied involvement. The fire damaged the two homes so much that they have since been demolished.
‘Father-in-law not in jail’
Two witnesses heard relatives of the residents of number 17 talking to each other near the ambulance just after the fire. One of those relatives then said that she would take the blame, because she did not want her father-in-law to end up in jail. According to the court, this would indicate that the resident of the house where the fire started could be the cause of the fire. Moreover, he was not insured.
These neighbors had wanted to charge the suspect for compensation of almost 155,300 euros. Due to the acquittal, they can whistle for this amount. The suspect had previously been provisionally released. He is now definitely a free man.
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