Gerrod Elbourne fronts court over arson of his parents’ home

A man suffering from a drug-induced psychosis torched his parents’ Harkness home and killed the family dog while they were holidaying in Bali.

Gerrod Elbourne set fire to his parents’ house in Harkness and killed the family dog.

A man suffering from a drug-induced psychosis torched his parent’s western suburbs house and killed the family dog while they were holidaying in Bali, a court has heard.

Gerrod Elbourne, 28, of Harkness pleaded guilty in the County Court in Melbourne on Thursday to one charge of arson and will be sentenced on June 21.

The house, which was extensively damaged, was well underway when firefighters arrived and they forced their way through the front door and garage, just before midnight on February 19, 2023.

After extinguishing the fire and clearing the house, they located the family dog “Rory” dead on the floor of the main ensuite bathroom and what appeared to be a stab wound on the animal’s neck

As two police officers exited the house, Elbourne told them “this is my house” and said he was unaware of the fire as he was at Williamstown beach.

Arsonist Gerrod Elbourne initially told police he was at Williamstown beach when the fire broke out at his parents’ Harkness house.

Elbourne said he had consumed a few drinks and briefly used his dad’s electrotherapy machine which he may have left on before leaving the house.

A week later, police received several 000 calls from residents in DonningtonWalk, Thornhill Park advising of a male attempting to self-harm.

After his release from hospital about three weeks later, he told police “I’d been using some drugs and I think I used a bit too much and l went into a psychosis.

When asked how he started the fire, Elbourne said “well, I tipped petrol, and then I lit a fire”.

He said the drug psychosis he experienced also caused him to kill the dog but could not recall specific details.

Insurance paid out nearly $474,000 for loss of property and contents, $58,450 for a Ford Falcon and other expenses.

The court heard Elbourne had been using methyamphetamine since he was a teenager and has been diagnosed with diabetes, borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety.