‘Extreme childhood trauma’ blamed for arson attack

JUDGE John Smallwood left the Latrobe County Court in no doubt last week about the factors that led up to 71-year-old Desmond Fitzgerald of Korumburra “committing an act of self-sabotage” and setting fire to his own newsagency on Sunday night, July 24 last year.

But it was not, he said, about any insurance claim, debts, financial gain or revenge.

In fact, the incident, which was caught on CCTV surveillance equipment, inside the premises at 27 Commercial Street, Korumburra, had cost Fitzgerald dearly in money and mental anguish, although Judge Smallwood accepted that the accused man was unable to recall anything about the incident, even after police showed him the damning video footage of his own actions.

Judge Smallwood said it was likely that several issues in the weeks leading up to the fire had triggered the response, including long working hours, the death of a close friend and notice from the

South Gippsland Shire that his business would be impacted by 12 weeks of road and drainage work at the front of the shop. Concern about damage from leaking water and the discovery of asbestos in the building, requiring costly refurbishment, were other factors.

But, as detailed by Judge Smallwood, it was the suicide death of his father in Mr Fitzgerald’s teenage years and some “extraordinary” incidents in his childhood, unknown even to his wife and family, that came to a head in the lead up to the fire, that contributed most to a mental breakdown around the time of the incident.

“As people get older, they lose their defence mechanisms,” said Judge Smallwood, as a reason why Mr Fitzgerald finally succumbed.

However, while the exact nature of those “horrendous” incidents were read out for the court, to explain the reduced sentence on the single charge of arson, an offence that can attract up to 15 years in jail, Judge Smallwood placed a suppression order on the media not to reveal the exact nature of those incidents.

In a letter of apology to the community this week, however, Mr Fitzgerald and his family described those episodes as “extreme childhood trauma”, while promoting the importance of speaking up and asking for help in difficult times (see also letters page this edition).

In the end, Judge Smallwood said it “would be an act of cruelty to put him in jail”.

And taking into account his early guilty plea, remorse, the fact that no one was put in danger by the fire or other property damaged, plus references from family and members of the community, that he was an upstanding citizen without a criminal record, he said a three-year Community Corrections Order, with 250 hours of community work, was the appropriate penalty.

Some of those hours will be allocated to mental health treatment.

The sentence comes with a conviction for arson, which Judge Smallwood said was a significant penalty for someone with an otherwise unblemished record.

The judge was urged by Corrections Victoria to include a condition that Mr Fitzgerald undertake an Offence Specific Program to reduce his risk of reoffending.

But Judge Smallwood said the convicted man’s risk of reoffending was already zero, making such a program unnecessary.

Prior to handing down the sentence, in the Latrobe County Court on Thursday, August 3, Judge Smallwood provided an account of what happened on the night of Sunday, July 24, 2022.

“At the time of the offence, Mr Fitzgerald was aged 70 and jointly owned the Korumburra Newsagency, with a $256,000 mortgage owed to the Bendigo Bank.”

That debt has since been repaid.

He said Fitzgerald had watched a video and enjoyed a meal upstairs at the shop, in an area which he described as his sanctuary, before coming downstairs at about 6.30pm, and starting a fire with lighter fluid at 7.08pm. He then locked the back door and went home.

A passerby noticed smoke coming out of the premises and called triple zero at 7.22pm.

“By that time, you were already sound asleep at home,” said Judge Smallwood.

The fire brigade arrived and took 45 minutes to extinguish the blaze which caused extensive damage.

The incident was investigated by police who soon after showed Mr Fitzgerald the CCTV footage, at which point he admitted he must have started the fire, although he could not recall doing so.

Mr Fitzgerald had previously worked for 30 years as a 7 day-a-week dairy farmer, and despite opposition from his family, took over the newsagency, and for another 11 years, worked 7 days and long hours in that business as well.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Smallwood said Mr Fitzgerald was free to go, saying he “could see no point destroying what’s left of your life” by imposing a jail sentence.

In a letter to the editor this week, Mr Fitzgerald and his family have thanked the 
community for its support, expressed remorse for the incident and apologised for their inability to go on serving the community.

“Des has suffered severe mental illness in silence for the past 60 years due to extreme childhood trauma. He had never spoken of this until a few weeks before the fire; this disclosure was then followed by a cascade of misevents out of his control, leading to the tragedy of the fire in the Korumburra Newsagency.”

They said their father had now taken steps to start his healing process and had been receiving mental health treatment since the fire, but would not seek to restart the business.

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If you are in a situation that is harmful or life-threatening, contact emergency services immediately on Triple Zero (000). If you are not in immediate danger but you need help, call NURSE-ON-CALL on 1300 60 60 24. For crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit the Lifeline website at https://www.lifeline.org.au/

For support to address distress or thoughts of suicide, call the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or visit the Suicide Call Back Service website, or call SuicideLine on 1300 651 251 or visit the SuicideLine website. For support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or visit the Beyond Blue website.