Doesn’t this sound like a plot of a movie that’d star Jason Sudeikis and Zach Galifianakis? A zany comedy about two eccentric neighbors who try to kill each other through increasingly whacky methods. Think Home Alone meets Horrible Bosses? It’d cost about $25 million to make and gross about $150 million. Throw in Jennifer Aniston or an equally attractive middle-aged woman and you have yourself Hollywood’s recipe for success.
However, while this all makes for a mildly entertaining PG-13 comedy that would hover around a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s much less entertaining when it happens in real life.
Daniel Burgess, 38, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after blocking the inflow and outflow pipes of neighbor Michael Horner’s house on Christmas Day back in 2015. Horner, 48, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Via BBC:
The court heard Burgess used a large raw potato to shut off the pipe through which exhaust gases should have been vented. He was taking revenge because he believed Mr. Horner had stolen his pre-paid gas cards, with the result he could not heat his home.
His plan was to make Mr. Horner suffer in the same way by sabotaging his heating, but a fault in the boiler meant an automatic fail safe system did not work and the house filled with gas.Judge Geoffrey Mercer QC told Burgess: “You accept your unlawful and dangerous act in interfering with the flue of Mr Horner’s boiler in the way you did caused his death.
“He had serious health issues and you knew of his disability and vulnerability.”
Kate Brunner QC, defending, said Burgess suffers from paranoid schizophrenia which led him to blame his neighbour for the theft of his gas cards.
She said: “He wants to express his very deep regret. He is profoundly sorry. His intention was to stop the boiler working and that is what would have happened but for the tragic coincidence of the fault.
“He did not intend or foresee any harm. He could not perceive the boiler’s safety system would fail. His mental illness may go some way to explaining his bizarre actions.”
