A British man by the name of David Murray has just been jailed for lighting former friend Richard Clark‘s house on fire after Clark told Murray’s daughter they were gay lovers. That sounds fair…
The two men were once great friends – confidantes, if you will – and perhaps Clark got the wrong idea, because he told Murray’s daughter they were, again, more than friends. Upon hearing the news, Murray threatened Clark, telling him, “You’ll be dead by lunchtime.” Later that day, poor Clark – who suffers from chronic bronchitis – heard a bang on his door, went to investigate and found himself trapped. That wily and vengeful Murray, you see, had secured the door with a pipe, through which he poured petrol and, as you can guess, ignited.
Clark suffered minor burns, singed hair and, we’re assuming, a bit of a broken heart.
Speaking in Murray’s defense, lawyer Seth Levine argued:
Mr Murray considered Mr Clark to be a very close friend indeed, whom he confided in. His relationship with his daughter is extremely precious to him. The way the victim targeted that relationship was premeditated and done out of spite and vengeance.
The judge didn’t buy it and sentenced Murray to an undisclosed amount of jail time. He can apply for parole in three-and-a-half years. That’s what you get when you don’t value a good friend. And, of course, try to kill them by fire…
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