Francis McGuirk, once ranked among the top 700 golfers in the world, narrowly dodged jail (Picture: David Cannon/R&A via Getty Images)
A millionaire golf pro has narrowly avoided jail after trying to burn down his £900,000 family home after the breakdown of his marriage.
Francis McGuirk, 50, told firefighters he ‘didn’t want the b***h to have everything’ as they saved the Kent home he co-owned with former partner Sarah McGuirk.
He had sent his estranged wife messages threatening to ‘burn the house to the ground’ with himself inside shortly before the arson attack on June 25 last year.
The sportsman struck while his wife and three daughters were away, leaving the seafront Sandwich property empty except for him and Dolly, their cavapoo dog.
Speaking of the fire that spread just after 8pm, Prosecutor Caroline Knight told Canterbury Crown Court: ‘Sarah was at a dinner party on the night of the incident.
‘Knowing the address would be empty, the defendant let himself in. He locked the doors before snapping the keys in the locks from the inside.
‘He first tried to start a fire using some cooking oil, which didn’t take, so he then set fire to some cushions in the living room using lighter fluid.’
In one of the voice messages Mr McGuirk sent to his wife describing what he was doing during the incident, he said: ‘I’ll probably throw Dolly out of the window in a minute so that’s all good.’
MrGuirk’s children had to leave their family home due to their father’s attempt to burn it down (Picture: Josef Vostarek/CTV via AP)
Mr McGuirk was prevented from completely destroying the property after a passerby saw smoke and alerted neighbours, who called 999.
The prosecutor said: ‘The defendant was outside the house, in their view acting bizarrely and refusing emergency services.
‘A private security guard attended and saw the defendant outside the property apparently trying to get back inside to rescue the family dog.
‘The defendant made admissions of starting the fire with the aim of burning the house to the ground, telling firefighters: “I didn’t want the b***h to have everything”.’
Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames and rescue the dog.
But smoke had ‘spread throughout the property, covering each room and the contents inside with a coat of oily soot’, Ms Knight said.
It also caused significant damage to the house on Waldershare Avenue, a four-minute drive from Royal St George’s where he played his only ever golf major.
Everything in the living room was destroyed, and McGuirk’s daughters were left unable to live in their own home.
Psychiatric evaluations concluded Mr McGuirk was trying to end his own life in the fire (Picture: Josef Vostarek/CTK via AP)
Mr McGuirk, who played in The Open in 2011, caused himself minor injuries. He was treated for suspected smoke inhalation and flash burns.
Defence barrister Danny Moore claimed the arson attack started as a serious attempt by Mr McGuirk to end his own life.
Referring to psychiatric evaluations of his client, Moore said: ‘The authors of the reports view the commission of the offence as …read more
Source:: Metro
