Court records describe two early-morning emergency calls that investigators later concluded arose from the same disturbing series of events.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — An Indiana man has been charged with felony arson after authorities said an early-morning garage fire and a report that he had been stabbed were connected to severe injuries he inflicted on himself.

Christopher Michael Peden, 36, is accused of setting fire to a detached garage at his mother’s Fort Wayne property on May 6. According to accounts of a probable cause affidavit, Peden later told investigators that he had injured himself with a kitchen knife inside the garage, poured gasoline on severed tissue and ignited it before walking away. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the publicly available reports do not identify a motive. The case began as two separate emergency responses. Firefighters were dispatched to a detached garage fire while police officers investigated a reported stabbing elsewhere in Fort Wayne, according to court records cited by local and national news organizations. Officers found Peden injured, and he initially said someone had stabbed him downtown after threatening him the previous day. That account placed police on the trail of an unknown assailant while fire investigators examined the damaged structure at his family’s home.

At the fire scene, Peden’s mother and brother told investigators that they lived at the property and that the garage did not have electrical service. Peden’s brother said a neighbor had awakened him to warn that the garage was burning. He also told investigators that a small container of gasoline used for a lawn mower was the only known fuel source normally kept inside the building. Peden could not immediately be found near the property, according to the affidavit as described by the news reports.

Those details gave investigators reason to question whether the fire had started accidentally. The lack of electrical power reduced the likelihood of an electrical malfunction, while the presence of gasoline offered a possible source of ignition. Investigators also learned that Peden, who was missing from the home, had been located with serious wounds. Police began examining whether the injured man and the garage fire were part of the same event rather than unrelated emergencies unfolding at roughly the same time.

Peden was taken to a hospital for treatment. There, according to the probable cause affidavit, he said he had not been truthful about being attacked and wanted to correct his account. Authorities said he then described going into the garage at about 2 a.m., using a kitchen knife to inflict the injuries and placing the severed tissue on the floor. He allegedly said he poured gasoline over it, started the fire just inside the garage entrance and left the property on foot. Investigators reported finding a red plastic gasoline container, four lighters and a kitchen knife inside the garage. The items were collected as evidence. Authorities did not publicly say whether the severed tissue was recovered, and the available reports do not describe laboratory testing, fire-pattern analysis or other forensic work that may have been conducted. They also do not state how long the fire burned before crews brought it under control.

The blaze was not confined entirely to the detached structure, according to WRTV’s account of the affidavit. Officials said two additional properties and two vehicles sustained damage. The available court reporting does not provide repair estimates, identify the owners of the affected vehicles or say whether the neighboring properties were occupied when the fire spread. No injuries other than Peden’s self-inflicted wounds were reported in the sources reviewed for this article.

The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office charged Peden with Level 4 felony arson. An arson charge requires prosecutors to prove the legal elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt if the case reaches trial. The affidavit provides the factual basis that authorities relied on when seeking the charge, but it is not a finding of guilt. Peden is entitled to challenge the evidence, dispute the government’s account and present a defense through the court process.

Online court information cited by People and Law&Crime showed that a judge set Peden’s bond at $10,000 during an initial hearing on July 2. He posted a surety bond and was released July 7. Reports published shortly after his release listed court appearances for July 13 and Aug. 31. The outcome of the July 13 proceeding could not be confirmed from the public sources reviewed, and no later filing establishing a plea, trial date or resolution was located.

The accounts also state that Peden has a prior Allen County conviction for operating while intoxicated, including a 2018 Level 6 felony conviction connected to an earlier offense. That history is separate from the pending arson allegation and does not establish guilt in the new case. The reviewed reports do not indicate that prosecutors filed any charge based on Peden’s initial stabbing account, nor do they say whether mental competency, treatment or medical evaluations have been raised in court.

The unusual nature of the allegation has drawn attention, but the central criminal question is narrower than the most disturbing detail in the affidavit. Prosecutors must establish that Peden knowingly or intentionally damaged the garage by fire under the section of Indiana law cited in the charging case. Evidence about the ignition source, the location of the recovered objects, the damage pattern and Peden’s alleged hospital statement may become important if the case is contested.

Several significant facts remain unavailable. Authorities have not publicly released a motive, a full estimate of the property damage or an explanation for the delay between the May 6 fire and Peden’s July court proceedings. The reports also do not identify an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Without further court records, it is unclear whether defense lawyers will seek to exclude his alleged statement, request a medical evaluation or dispute the fire investigator’s conclusions.

As of Aug. 4, Peden remained accused rather than convicted. The most recent verified reports listed another Allen County court date for Aug. 31, when the case could move toward additional pretrial proceedings. Any later changes to his bond, charges or court schedule had not been confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Author note: Last updated August 4, 2026.