In a verdict issued by the Second Division of the Valencian State Court, a man was sentenced to 54 years in prison after trying to kill six people by setting their home on fire. The act stemmed from a long-standing feud with his stepdaughter and the partner who lived in the residence. The court found him guilty of six counts of attempted murder, considering a possible extenuating factor of intoxication in one count and the aggravating factor of kinship in another.
The incident occurred around three in the morning on 14 October 2020 when the defendant drove several bottles of gasoline to the home of his wife’s daughter and her partner in Valencia. The prosecution had sought a 93-year prison term for the defendants. During the hearing held in September, the defendant contended that he had returned from a barbecue and claimed to have been barefoot with a burned foot when the police found him at the scene in the early hours.
According to the court’s statement, the man, knowing that his actions could endanger others in the building, sprayed diesel at the first floor door and left a gasoline trail along the stairs to exit. He then ignited the fuel and started the fire, causing serious injuries to residents and extensive damage inside the dwelling.
The convicted individual also set fire to the car of his stepdaughter’s husband. Hours before the attack, he had threatened to burn their house in a phone call, but the residents did not take him seriously, and most were asleep when the flames began.
The person who started the fire had previously threatened to burn the house where his hostile stepdaughter lived.
Four victims sustained burns of varying degrees, including a seven-year-old boy who suffered injuries to the face, hands, back, arms, and chest. He required emergency hospitalization and more than 13 skin graft surgeries.
The court also imposed restrictions on the perpetrator, prohibiting him from approaching within 500 meters of the victims and from communicating with any of the six people involved. He was also barred from residing in Valencia for ten years.
Additionally, the convicted individual must compensate the injured parties for their damages through civil liability, with compensation amounts ranging from 2,600 to 350,000 euros, totaling up to 715,000 euros for the reported injuries and losses.
The damages to the residence and the farm were estimated at over 16,500 euros. According to sources from the Valencian Community’s Superior Court of Justice, the sentence has not yet become final, and there remains the possibility of lodging an appeal with the Civil and Criminal Division of the Valencia Community Supreme Court of Justice.