On the night of March 25 this year, Edward Guy Mason, 57, went to his store in Bruce Rock, 240 kilometres east of Perth, packed three shopping trolleys with cardboard and set them on fire, before trying to take his own life.
His lawyer, Richard Lawson, said Mason then became convinced he had the virus, and to protect his customers and the public from getting infected he had to burn down his business, later repeatedly telling witnesses, "I set fire to the business to kill the germs."
"He decided he had to eradicate himself,"