California professor who set fires seeks mercy at sentencing

A California college professor who went on an arson spree after his teenage son committed suicide, apologized Tuesday during the sentencing phase of his case. Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, a 49-year-old associate professor in the departments of pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology and molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, asked the court for mercy, The Orange County Register reported. "I lost my son, and then I lost myself," Reinscheid told Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett. "My grief was overwhelming. It felt like the end of the world to me." Reinscheid's 14-year-old son took his own life in March 2012 and Reinscheid went on to set five fires later that year and allegedly sent ominous emails of plans for sexual assaults and mass killings, though he wasn't charged concerning the emails. The academician faces three to 18 years in state prison, with prosecutors seeking the maximum, KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, reported. "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize," Reinscheid said Tuesday. "I can promise you that when released, I will not be a threat to harm any person or property." Others, however, asked the court to impose a stiff sentence. "We need you to help us return to work with less fear each day," one said. The sentencing hearing was to continue Wednesday.