Stableman under investigation. “I’m the one who set fire to the racecourse.”

There has been a turning point in the inquiry into the fire at the racecourse in Varese. A stableman who worked next to the “Le Bettole” racecourse, Thomas L., 53, told the police that he set the fire out of revenge against the Chairman Guido Borghi and the management company, who have been in a dispute with the horse trainers, for a long time, and who have not paid the bills over the last few months, which led to the electricity being cut, the electrical instruments stopping and the heating going off.

The man, who is of German origin, is already known to the police, because of problems of alcoholism, and the police came to him after they were informed by the casualty department. On Friday morning, soon after the fire, the man went to hospital with serious burns on his arms. He told the medical staff that he worked at the stables, that, because of the cold due to the power cut, he had lit a brazier, and a sudden burst of flame burnt him by accident. The story aroused the suspicions of the medical staff and the police, who informed the prosecutor’s office. Over the last few hours, the police have questioned the German and other workers at the stables. Initially, the man supported the version of the accident, but, during the evening, at the police station, he changed his story completely and said he had set the fire, using an inflammable liquid, out of revenge. He said he had got into the offices, on Thursday afternoon, before closing time, and hidden, waiting for the clerks to leave. Then, he apparently carried out his plan and vanished without setting off the alarms. His story was heard in the late evening, also by the public prosecutor, Annalisa Palomba, who will decide whether or not to believe his words. In the meantime, the man has been investigated: he might be released, awaiting others checks, but the decisions of the public prosecutor will only be made known on Sunday.

Update, 9 a.m.:

“THAT’S HOW I BURNT THE RACECOURSE”

The man was questioned by the public prosecutor until 1.30 a.m. The attorney has decided to investigate him for arson, but has not decided to keep him in prison, as there is no danger of flight. However, the evidence against him agrees with the story he initially gave to the police, and then to the public prosecutor, Palomba, in the presence of his court-appointed lawyer, Marco Antonini.

Thomas L. claimed that he wanted to avenge the presumed injustices by Guido Borghi, who, as chairman of the Varese company, should have paid the bills of the stables, but, on the contrary, left them in the cold and dark. He also said that, if he had known the owner’s home address, he might have set fire directly to his house. The stableman lives in a room inside the stables in Via Fra Galdino, in a restricted space, without a bathroom, where he created a mini-flat. When he was left without heating, and possibly exasperated by this, he planned his revenge on Thursday afternoon. He went to the nearest petrol station to fill a 20-litre can, then entered the racecourse and waited for the night to come. He poured the contents of the petrol can over the computers and the tables, than soaked a white handkerchief, but the room apparently became saturated, and the flames threw him to the floor, covering his clothes and arms. Although stunned and seriously injured, he managed to get up and run away, climbing over a side wall near the stand, in an area far from prying eyes. He then went home, determined not to tell anyone what he had done. In the afternoon, the pain was overwhelming, and he went to the hospital, where the police investigation began. In the meanwhile, he was apparently seen also by a colleague, and by a newsagent and a chemist who knew him, and who began to suspect him. The policemen at the stables also found the burnt clothes of the German: times and routes apparently coincide. Moreover, he clearly indicated the whole route he took to enter and exit the racecourse, explaining that this was basically his protest against the deterioration of the stables, a dispute that has gone on since 2012. Today new inspections will be made.

Update, 1 p.m.

New details have emerged concerning the dynamics described by the German stableman who pleaded guilty to setting fire to the racecourse. In the description of the night, there is one detail that should be stressed, that, for the police, represents the latest and the most credible version of the occurrence. The man said that he had filled a petrol can at a petrol station in Viale Aguggiari. He got home at 11 p.m. and drank some beer. He went out later, and climbed over a wall, walked along the track, and then got into the offices with the can; it appears they were not locked. It was then that he carried out his plan.