Arsonist says trio of Newfoundland fires were his way of 'making society pay for me'

Three fires in key government buildings in the Bay d'Espoir region in January were motivated by a dispute over flooding compensation — and a desire to "extract a payment" from society for an unfair life, according to the man who set them.

Donald Craig MacHaight, who pleaded guilty to three counts of arson at a school, town/fire hall and RCMP detachment, laid out his reasons in a 25-page handwritten statement to Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial court.

I was simply making society pay for me and this was what was at hand.- Donald Craig MacHaight

MacHaight's note covers in extensive detail the early morning hours of Jan. 17, when he set fires at the buildings — including the sounds his hatchet made as he attempted to break through the glass of the police station.

He also documented his life story, including his birth, childhood, teenage crushes, military service, the death of his mother and father, his life as a "shut-in" and struggles with Newfoundland and Labrador's welfare system.

The 49-year-old wrote that he decided to set the fires immediately after entering a "deep depression," caused by the provincial government's refusal to compensate him for damage to his home during flooding on Newfoundland's south coast in October 2016.

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"I couldn't cope, there was simply too much coming at me and I saw no way out," he wrote. "It was over, that quiet little life I had."

Targeted buildings with 'value'

MacHaight wrote that shortly before the flooding, he moved to Morrisville in the Bay d'Espoir area, to be closer to his sick mother.

He moved into a home that his sister had bought, and despite an attempt to sign over the deed of the home in 2016, the provincial government did not recognize that he was the owner.

In December 2016, according to the statement, the manager of the province's disaster financial assistance program called MacHaight to tell him the provincial government would not be compensating him for any damage to the home he lived in.

"Without even thinking about it, I knew what I would do," he said.

MacHaight wrote that he targeted the school and town hall building because they were valuable but would be empty overnight.

He also wrote that he added the RCMP detachment to his list for no better reason than "thematic appeal," as it is a federal building.

I blamed society for making me the way that I was. It delivered a one-two punch that knocked me out of the game.- Donald Craig MacHaight

​"I never had anything against these buildings or the institutions," he continued.

"I was simply making society pay for me and this was what was at hand." 

According to a joint statement of facts, MacHaight was found by a police officer at about 5 a.m, on Jan. 17, sitting in a snowbank near the RCMP detachment.

That was the last building he burned.

The police officer who arrested him found a hatchet, a flashlight, a folding knife, flint, a lighter, a box of matches and a copy of the novel Crime and Punishment.

'A life unlived'

While MacHaight described his decision to set the fires after his dealings with the provincial government, he also wrote about an earlier "vow" he had made — around the age of 23 — that "society will pay for me, sooner or later, one way or another."

That vow was made after he became a "shut-in" at 23, having left the military and dropped out of St. Lawrence College in Cornwall, Ont. He wrote that he was unable to succeed at either institution because he "couldn't take being around people."

According to the statement, he was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder.

He also wrote extensively about his physical appearance, saying many joked that he looked "ugly" despite being born Donald Craig Pretty.

"I started to get the joke from a scattered grow-up, and I knew life was over. I wasn't going to become anything. I had no dreams. I was made to be an outcast."

I was made to be an outcast.- Donald Craig MacHaight

MacHaight changed his name in 2003.

"I blamed society for making me the way that I was. It delivered a one-two punch that knocked me out of the game," he said.

"At some point, society will have to support me, and if it doesn't, then I will extract a payment for my unlived life."

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MacHaight numbered the pages in his statement, and included chapter titles.

He concluded his note by expressing remorse for what happened.

"How I wish none of this had happened, that the situation I was in and the stress I was under didn't occur. That I was, right now, living my quiet little life, bothering no one."

MacHaight will be sentenced Jan. 18. The Crown attorney has asked for a sentence of five years' imprisonment, while MacHaight's lawyer has asked for four.

Click here to read MacHaight's full statement. Warning: Language may be offensive to some.