Wife killer, 80, is back in jail for setting fire to flat
A convicted killer set fire to his sheltered housing flat out of frustration and loneliness, a court heard.
James Clarke, who served almost 11 years behind bars for stabbing his wife to death, started the blaze in a bid to kill himself.
A court heard the 80-year-old was angry his bank cards and a bus pass had gone missing.
Believing they had been stolen, he repeatedly rang his emergency button to alert staff and tell them to call police.
The former Royal Engineer, who had been drinking heavily, then lit bedding or clothing in his bedroom before sitting down to watch TV in his living room and waiting for the flames to engulf him.
But staff at the accommodation in James Whatman Way, Maidstone, were again alerted by an emergency call from Clarke’s flat and could hear the smoke alarm.
On entering the thirdfloor flat, Clarke told them: “I told you I was going to do something. Now I have.”
The frail pensioner, a former engineer for London Transport until he was jailed for life for murder in 1990, admitted arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
Maidstone Crown Court heard the blaze on April 30 destroyed the flat and Clarke’s belongings, with damage estimated at £30,000.
The accommodation, which houses the elderly, retired people, and vulnerable adults, had to be evacuated.
Currently recalled to prison, Clarke wept as he told the judge he was upset and did not mean any harm.
He told police he started the blaze because he was angry no one had come to see him when he used the emergency button.
Prosecutor Martin Yale said he intended to kill himself in the fire.
The court heard Clarke had fatally stabbed his wife in the back during a row. He was released after 10 years and eight months but was recalled back to prison in 2006.
He moved into his flat six years ago, having been freed for a second time.
Kate Hunter, defending, said Clarke rarely had visitors or went out due to health difficulties and mobility problems and had acted wholly inappropriately.
He was jailed for three years and four months, with Judge Julian Smith saying jail was inevitable, as other lives were at risk.
Clarke will not be released from prison until the Parole Board considers it safe.