Content warning: This story contains references to suicide and may be distressing for some readers.
Aaron Farinacci, who confessed to starting the Old Trails fire, believes Spokane has already made up its mind about him, a court document says.
“Spokane has gotten in their head that I am a monster,” the accused arsonist told a forensic psychologist — one of several details from a newly released psychological evaluation that paint a fuller picture of the man charged with setting the Old Trails fire on August 1.
The evaluation, completed last week and made public Monday evening, found Farinacci legally competent to stand trial — meaning he understands the proceedings against him and can assist in his defense.
The 37-year-old suspect is charged with five counts of first-degree arson, including setting the Old Trails fire that tore through hundreds of homes in a matter of hours — one of three blazes that comprised the Spokane Complex fires. He confessed to starting 25 other fires and faces four additional arson counts tied to fires from his accounts that investigators say they’ve since corroborated with their own records.
Psychologist Robert Cosby evaluated Farinacci in a session that lasted about 150 minutes, according to the report. He diagnosed Farinacci with major depressive disorder with anxious distress and recommended a follow-up evaluation by a designated crisis responder — a mental-health exam used to determine whether emergency intervention is needed.
A continued threat
Cosby's report documents ongoing violent ideation.
“While he reported no identifiable target or plan, he linked his violent ideation to his current legal circumstances and identified ‘anyone’ as a potential target,” the report states, though it notes women and children were “off the table.”
“I don’t or wouldn’t care if I killed somebody because of these charges. They each carry a life sentence, and if I get a life sentence I wouldn’t care if I killed anyone cause what more could the judge do to me,” Farinacci told Cosby.
Farinacci also expressed doubt in receiving a fair trial locally. He said he believed he’d be treated “more fairly” in another county or state given his criminal history, the current allegations and media coverage, according to the report.
On August 4, Farinacci compared his emotional state to “a big, black hole,” and reported feeling “awful, just terrible.” The report states that he was eager to speak with mental-health staff and appreciated receiving a Bible.
He's leaned on his religious beliefs — “belief in a higher power, a heavenly power” — for support since his arrest.
Following his August 6 arraignment, he appeared “calm, cooperative and tearful,” the report says.
A note dated August 7 indicated that Farinacci engaged easily with the clinician despite continuing to show a depressed affect and feelings of hopelessness. He discussed biblical material at length and read a passage he believed reflected his current emotional state, the report notes. Though he described wanting to die, he did not describe a specific plan.
In that same August 7 contact, he discussed the pending competency evaluation and reported that his attorney might seek a change of venue if the case went to trial, citing difficulty finding an unbiased jury in Spokane County.
He also discussed his fear that his girlfriend Stephanie Ghostenstein might end their relationship and his desire to maintain contact with his son, records show.
Ghostenstein has since ended the relationship after his arrest, according to the report. The two had been together roughly four years and share a son. In the weeks before his arrest, Farinacci said, the two had been arguing over ordinary household matters — dishes, laundry and his limited help around the house.
Past treatment and records
Cosby’s evaluation drew on records from Beyond Behavioral Health, Frontier Behavioral Health, Spokane County Jail and Washington’s Behavioral Health Reporting System database.
He also attempted to refer to Maricopa County Forensic Records and the Arizona Department of Corrections’ mental-health division, but did not receive them. Maricopa County told Cosby it had no records of any forensic mental-health evaluation for Farinacci — a discrepancy, since Arizona court records indicate a judge there found him competent following an exam years earlier, with Farinacci needing to stay on an unspecified medication regimen to remain so.
Prior providers had diagnosed Farinacci with obsessive-compulsive disorder and considered a PTSD diagnosis. However, Cosby found insufficient support for either, consistent with an earlier Frontier evaluation that reached the same conclusion.
Farinacci previously spent roughly a decade incarcerated after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the 2010 death of his father in Arizona. Farinacci said the killing, which happened due to a dispute over dishes, followed years of physical abuse by his father — an account mental-health providers have referenced since at least 2022. While in prison, he reportedly developed obsessive handwashing and toothbrushing habits as a coping mechanism.
In an early evaluation during his current arrest, Farinacci called himself “a planner” and described having contemplated killing another incarcerated person with a shovel during his Arizona sentence.
After relocating to Washington under an interstate compact that allows people on parole to move states, Farinacci found employment in the Liberty Lake area within about a month and worked there for several months. Ghostenstein told The Spokesman-Review that Farinacci moved to be closer to his brother. He hasn’t maintained steady employment since, citing difficulty finding work with a felony record, the report says.
Substance abuse was not a factor in the fires he’s been accused of setting, the documents state, though it notes some self-reported alcohol and drug use scattered throughout the years since he has been out of prison. It also notes that he said he hasn't had alcohol since 2023.
What the records show
Farinacci has experienced multiple episodes of suicidal behavior. Immediately after his father’s killing, he reported one of the most serious episodes, where he shot himself in the chest “with intention of striking his heart.”
Early this year on February 14, Farinacci had intended to take his life, according to Frontier records based on a phone call that a friend had made the next day. Farinacci later explained that when he saw his son he “decided that he wanted to remain alive for him,” according to the report.
His brother has been a steady source of support, Farinacci told Cosby, even though the two haven’t always communicated regularly, the report says. His brother “responded immediately" when Farinacci expressed suicidal ideation in February, driving over to talk, and has reportedly reached out daily since Farinacci’s arrest.
A February 17 note says Farinacci agreed to start outpatient counseling through Frontier and that he denied having current suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
On February 19, Farinacci underwent an intake evaluation with a Frontier clinician who diagnosed an unspecified trauma-and stressor-related disorder. Farinacci denied any current suicide plan and began outpatient therapy on February 24, identifying his son as his strongest protective factor.
He continued sessions through the spring, addressing emotional regulation and his relationship — with no documented signs of psychosis or significant impairment — before being transferred to a new clinician on July 14.
In that session, he described intermittent suicidal thoughts arising during arguments with his girlfriend, including thoughts of provoking “suicide by cop,” as well as separate thoughts of killing people — though his mental status exam that day still showed largely intact mental function, the report says.
On July 30, Farinacci arrived at a Frontier appointment with Ghostenstein. He was punctual and appropriately dressed, in what the clinician described as an optimistic mood. He described having been verbally harassed the previous day, which prompted a “temptation to burn stuff,” according to the report.
The clinician completed a risk assessment, the document says, but did not identify a significant imminent risk and concluded that there was no necessary duty to warn or need for further safety measures.
He did not appear for a scheduled August 7 session, having been arrested on August 3.
What’s next
The federal government is exploring potential charges against Farinacci in connection to the Old Trails fire, The Spokesman has reported.
Farinacci is currently being held at Spokane County Jail on a $2 million bond, having attended both his first appearance in court and arraignment hearing remotely.
He is scheduled for a September 4 stay hearing, when a judge will decide whether the criminal case can proceed or should remain paused.
