The stress of having to give evidence at the trial of convicted killer Stephen Hudson was the trigger for a man's arson spree in Masterton, a court has been told.
Hudson was found guilty on November 25 of the 2002 murder of his drug-dealing associate Nicholas Pike and was recently sentenced to life imprisonment.
The witness, who has interim name suppression, pleaded guilty in Masterton District Court yesterday to four arson charges and one of wilful damage caused by fire. Two of the fires, which threatened buildings in the central business district, were lit on October 31.
The man told police that, though he regretted the arson attacks, his crimes were driven by alcohol and the stress of aspects of his life at that time.
On October 22, five days before the start of Hudson's trial, he torched two large skip bins. Firefighters doused the flames before the fires spread. On October 31, more bins were set alight and a small tree and a car were also set on fire.
The man was remanded on bail until sentencing on May 10.
