Millionaire golfer sets his house on fire in revenge after divorce

A millionaire and professional golfer set fire to his home to spite his wife. They broke up and he decided that this way he would take revenge on her.

Francis McGurk narrowly avoided prison for his deed. During the trial, which ended recently, the 50-year-old professional golfer was accused of setting fire to the family's $1.4 million (BGN 2,568,882) home in Sandwich, Kent, England, last year just to angered his wife Sarah.

On June 25 last year, knowing no one was home, the father-of-three locked himself inside and broke the keys in the locks, then texted his partner to let her know he was going to set fire to their home. He did just that, and it was only thanks to neighbors who called 911 that the house sustained minor damage.

"On the night of the accident, Sarah was at dinner. "Knowing that the house would be empty, the accused allowed himself to break in," prosecutor Carolyn Knight told the court.

"At first he tried to start a fire using cooking oil which didn't work, so he used some pillows which he lit using petrol."

The golfer even threatened to "throw Dolly (their family dog) out the window".

When firefighters arrived, they found Francis McGurk outside in the yard, in an inadequate condition. He refused treatment for his minor burns and appeared to want to go back inside to save the dog. One of the firefighters later testified that McGurk told him he set the house on fire because he "didn't want the bitch to have everything.

The beachfront property suffered extensive damage, with most rooms covered in soot, but firefighters were able to contain the flames before they engulfed the entire property and also managed to save Dolly.

Although the judge is convinced that McGurk acted out of malice, thereby causing his entire family a lot of suffering. He also examines the defense's claim that the 50-year-old man intended to take his own life on the night of the incident.

So he spared the millionaire, giving him a suspended sentence of two years, but also warned him that any violation during that period would almost certainly land him in prison, writes "Telegraph", quoted by varna24.bg.