A court has heard how a young man set his mother's house on fire while she was inside.

After leaving the house, Camden Knopka, with an address at Castleview Court in Delvin, County Westmeath, then locked the front door before throwing away her keys.

The court heard Camden Knopka and his mother had a troubled relationship.

Camden, who was 19 years old at the time, was described as having “long-standing mental health difficulties.”

Only two months before the fire, his mother had secured a safety order against him due to his repeated threats to kill her.

Fire

On the night of the fire, September 19th, 2019, they were living together in Athboy, County Meath.

Due to his previous addiction to prescription drugs, she refused to give her son medication for a migraine.

He then set the house on fire and locked her inside.

She screamed for help and a man with a ladder came to her assistance.

Drugs

Camden claimed it was an accident but later admitted deliberately setting the fire during a conversation with his mother, which she secretly recorded on her phone.

Following his arrest, he admitted taking a cocktail of opioid flowers, wine and tablets.

He said he was out of his mind and was very sorry for what he had done.

His sentence hearing has been put back until March.

If you or someone you know is impacted by any of the issues discussed in this article, you can access a range of domestic abuse services here.