Gordon wanted to kill Bonds in the most horrible manner possible. He knew that Bonds had difficulty sleeping and took medication that nearly rendered him (Bonds) unconscious during the night. Gordon decided to burn down Bonds’ house as Bonds slept, and seized his opportunity one night after they had finished playing chess. Bonds had taken his medication and was sleeping deeply. Gordon got a coffee cup, filled it with lighter fluid, lit a cigarette, and put the cup underneath Bonds’ bed with the burning cigarette balanced on the cup’s edge. Gordon knew that as the cigarette burned, it would tip and fall into the cup of lighter fluid, setting the bed on fire. Gordon then left the house. The igniter worked just as Gordon had planned, except that Bond’s housekeeper smelled the smoke and called for help before the bed could ignite. Bonds was killed by the toxic fumes emitted by the burning lighter fluid, but there was no other damage to Bond’s home except the blackening of the ceiling of the bedroom from the dense smoke.

If Gordon is prosecuted for arson of Bond’s house, he should be found: