Who is Randy Nethken? West Virginia man arrested after setting house ablaze for not willling to clean dog's poop
MABIE, WEST VIRGINIA: A West Virginia man has made the news for a bizarre act he did after he was seemingly uninterested in cleaning up the poop of his family's newest edition, a puppy.
According to the authorities, Randy Nethken, 32, set his own house ablaze as he was unwilling to clean up the mess.
Nethken now stands accused of one count of arson for setting his home alight after he became “upset with the puppy for defecating all over the house,” according to a criminal complaint.
When did the incident occur?
On October 7, the incident took place at a residence on Ryan Run Road in Mabie, West Virginia, which is a tiny, unincorporated community in Randolph County, roughly two-and-a-half hours to the south of Pittsburgh.
As per the complaint obtained by West Virginia-based NBC/ABC affiliate WBOY, the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office received the news of the fire via email.
Nethken allegedly told dispatchers in the initial 911 call that the fire “originated in the attic.”
What did the authorities discover on reaching the scene?
The fire marshals, once there, allegedly discovered a different source for the blaze in “what appeared to be burned drawers” found, not in the attic, but “toward the rear of the involved structure,” the complaint states.
“[T]here were multiple separate and distinct non-communicating fires involving the drawers,” Mountain State fire investigators determined, according to the complaint "[which] appeared to extend from the contents up the interior sides of each of the drawers.”
Further investigation determined that “one of the drawers had remaining burn patterns on the exterior side and back that did not line up with the other drawer,” which would indicate “these patterns were generated from another heat source,” fire marshals said, concluding multiple little fires had been set.
Investigators say this happened throughout the house. “At least three additional separate and distinct non-communicating fires in the bathroom vanity” had been set “where some female hygiene products were ignited,” according to the complaint.
The fire investigators then finally made their way into the attic. There they “observed three more separate and distinct non-communicating fires” found “just left of the scuttle entrance,” the complaint states, referring to a kind of attic entryway in the ceiling.
When did Randy Nethken admit to the crime?
Fire marshals interviewed the defendant once more after a thorough investigation of the home.
“[C]onfronted with the remaining evidence,” Nethken admitted he “intentionally entered the attic willfully and intentionally utilized a match to set three fires,” the complaint alleges.
“[H]e set the fires in the bathroom because he was upset with the puppy for defecating all over the house,” the document continues.
Randy Nethken allegedly said he set up a GoFundMe
The lunatic, eventually hit with the reality, allegedly said he set up a GoFundMe “to help pay for the damage because they didn’t really have a lot of money,” according to the complaint.
The fundraiser is not active. The defendant is detained in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond.