No verdict in case against Adelaide cafe owner accused of arson
A jury has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict as to whether an Adelaide cafe owner burnt down his own business to collect the insurance money.
Carl Gibbons plead not guilty to one count of arson relating to a blaze at his Semaphore cafe The Curious Vine last year, just six weeks after it had opened for business.
Prosecutor Jeff Powell said Gibbons set fire to the cafe because he wanted to "rescue himself" from his financial troubles by making a false claim on his insurance policy.
Powell said the accused had told staff members who confronted him about shortfalls in their wages that he could "burn the place down" and give them money from the insurance claim.
However, defence lawyer Gilbert Aitken said it was a "ginormous leap" to claim that his client would burn down a building he did not own just because he was struggling financially.
"Mr Gibbons, the Crown said, couldn't pay his debts, couldn't pay his staff, continue to pay his suppliers. Does that make him guilty of setting fire to the building? Of course it doesn't," Aitken said.
"He simply had to go along, file a petition and declare himself bankrupt. His debts would have been absolved."
Jurors heard on the night of the blaze Gibbons called triple-0 and was rescued by firefighters from a neighbouring balcony.
He told police he was doing paperwork in the apartment above the cafe when he noticed the staircase was on fire.
The jury deliberated for about 10 hours before being discharged.
Sheridan Randall, 22nd November 2018
