Millionaire golfer set fire to his £900,000 home to spite his wife

A millionaire golf pro who set fire to his £900,000 seafront home to spite his estranged wife after their marriage broke down has avoided prison.

Francis McGuirk told emergency crews ‘I didn’t want the b***h to have everything’ as they battled the blaze at the property in Sandwich, Kent, on June 25 last year.

The 50-year-old, who played at The Open in 2011, co-owned the house with his former partner Sarah McGuirk and sent her messages saying how he would ‘burn the house to the ground’ while he was inside. 

He then acted on his threat, causing significant damage to the seafront property and minor injuries to himself in what the court was told was a ‘genuine suicide attempt’.

The father-of-three had faced being locked up for what the court heard was an attack driven by ‘spite’, the damage rom which forced his family out of the home, but he was given a suspended sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.

Prosecutor Caroline Knight told how McGuirk struck when he knew his wife was not at the house, which was also home to their three daughters.

Ms Knight said: ‘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..’

The fire that ensued shortly after 8pm caused significant damage to the house in Waldershare Avenue – just a stone’s throw from Royal St George’s, where McGuirk made his only appearance in a golf major.

Prosecutor Ms Knight said everything in the living room was destroyed, while smoke ‘spread throughout the property, covering each room and the contents inside with a coat of oily soot’,

The court heard that during the incident McGuirk sent voice messages to his wife describing what he was doing.

One message said: ‘I’ll probably throw Dolly (the family dog) out of the window in a minute so that’s all good.’

A passerby saw the smoke and alerted neighbours, who called 999.

The prosecutor continued: ‘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 extinguished the flames and rescued the cavapoo [a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle mix] before McGuirk was treated for suspected smoke inhalation and flash burns.

Defence barrister Danny Moore referred to psychiatric evaluations of his client, which concluded the arson attack began as a serious attempt to end his life.

He said: ‘The authors of the reports view the commission of the offence as a genuine suicide attempt.

‘There were other intentions wrapped up in the behaviour, but underlying this, there is someone who has had serious psychiatric problems.

‘One of the punishments the defendant has suffered as a result of this action is that he hasn’t seen his children since the day of this offence.

‘Your honour knows that the defendant has been a professional golfer and he hopes to return to this once these proceedings have come to an end.’

Mr Moore also pointed to ‘glowing’ character references and said his client was not a risk to the public, had a low risk of reoffending and was essentially of previous good character.

Hearing this mitigation, Recorder Edmund Fowler said: ‘I do find that there was an intent to cause very serious damage.

‘I don’t find that it was simply a consequence of him wanting to kill himself – there are other ways to do that without destroying a family home by fire.

‘It was based on spite – that being said, culpability is affected considerably by his mental state at the time.

‘What I take from the character references is that he does accept what he did was quite disgraceful and causes real harm to other people, and he has taken responsibility for that.’

McGuirk, of Underriver near Sevenoaks, was a professional at Prince’s Golf Club and once ranked among the top 700 golfers in the world.

He appeared in the dock wearing a suit and tie and remained emotionless throughout proceedings, speaking only to confirm his name and the guilty plea for arson he had previously entered at magistrates’ court.

After a period of deliberation, Recorder Fowler returned to the courtroom to deliver his judgement.

He said: ‘You caused considerable damage and psychological harm to others. You also harmed your own children.

‘Your daughters were forced to leave their home during an already difficult period of their lives.

‘This did start out as a serious attempt to kill yourself and that does to my mind reduce your culpability. And you have since sought help to improve your mental health and your drinking problem.’

McGuirk was given a custodial sentence of 20 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £13,555 in costs.

He must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the community, attend 30 sessions of rehabilitation activities, and take part in alcohol abstinence monitoring for 120 days.

Recorder Fowler also imposed a five-year restraining order forbidding McGuirk from contacting his soon-to-be ex-wife, with the former couple engaged in divorce proceedings.

The recorder added: ‘Mr McGuirk, I make it very clear to you that were you to commit any offence within the next two years, you would be brought back here and almost certainly go straight into custody.

‘You have come very very close to going straight inside.’

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