Farmland man charged with arson after setting fire to stop ‘imaginary people’

FARMLAND, Ind. — A Farmland man reportedly set a house on fire last year after he eventually told police he was trying to stop being tormented by “imaginary people,” according to court documents filed earlier this month in Randolph County.

Waylon William St. John, a Farmland resident, was charged with two counts of arson, each a Level 4 felony. This comes after a house fire on Windsor Road in Farmland occurred on Oct. 25, 2023.

According to court documents, officials with the Farmland Volunteer Fire Department and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department responded to the fire after dispatch received information from a man, later identified as St. John, who said multiple individuals were trapped inside.

When officials arrived at the house and were attempting to put out the fire, the documents said that St. John provided conflicting stories regarding the fire, stating that he first saw juveniles running from the building and then stating that five people were in the house, including his grandmother.

Responders from the Farmland Volunteer Fire Department that responded to the fire said that an interior search of the home was conducted as crews attempted to suppress the fire. Officials said the firefighters were unable to locate any individuals inside the burning structure.

St. John later said that his grandmother was dead and his mother was in a rehab facility, the documents said, telling officials that he was confused when he called 911 to report the fire. An initial investigation into the fire stated that the fire started on the floor of the garage in the basement.

In a follow-up interview with St. John, he told officials that he fell asleep that evening and woke up to smoke. St. John said that he found trash bags on fire in the garage, stressing that he did not start the fire or pour gasoline in the area. The documents said that St. John later failed a polygraph examination when he was asked questions about the incident.

Around a month later, St. John did another interview with law enforcement, reportedly admitting to starting the fire. The documents said that when he woke up, he reportedly saw people in the Windsor Road home, knowing now that it “wasn’t reality.”

After this, St. John said he went to his garage, poured gasoline on the trash, and lit it on fire with a lighter.

“St. John stated that these people were ‘tormenting’ him and that he was scared for his life,” the documents read. “…St. John stated that he poured gas down the drive to get the imaginary people away from him.”

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