Gary Noel set fire to his wife's house Saturday morning, and Noel says it's because his wife left him for a woman.
As far as the fire is concerned, Noel claims, "The bitch deserved it," as he killed his estranged wife's cat in the process.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Noel's wife called the cops on Saturday morning while on her way to work saying her roommate just called her to say she saw Noel's car parked around the corner from the house.
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies responded and "immediately recognized" Noel, 55, due to previous arrests for violating an order of protection, according to the court documents.
As deputies arrested Noel and placed him in the patrol car, they noticed that he kept looking over his shoulder, back at the house.
Sure enough, that's because he had set fire inside the house, according to police.
Nobody was in the house, but after the fire was extinguished, a cat was found dead in the master bedroom.
According to the court documents, Noel started asking, "Did the bed burn up?"
"The bitch deserved it," Noel said, according to the documents.
Channel 3 was there to film the whole scene, and Noel is on video saying "she deserved it."
According to the court documents, Noel admitted to breaking a window to get into the house and admitted to lighting a pillow on fire after breaking things in the home.
"When I asked Noel why he started the fire, he advised it was out of revenge, as he was angered that [his wife] left him for another woman and destroyed his life," the deputy wrote in a probable-cause statement.
Noel also told Channel 3 that his wife left him for a woman.
Noel's facing numerous felony charges, including arson of an occupied structure, criminal damage, burglary, and endangerment. Noel was ordered to be held without bond for an alleged probation violation.
