arson

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24 Years Later, Science Overturns Arson Conviction

Han Tak Lee imprisoned for allegedly murdering daughter

(Newser) - In 1990, Han Tak Lee was convicted of murdering his daughter. Now, almost a quarter-century later, a judge says the 79-year-old's conviction rested on a scientific inaccuracy—and the former New York businessman is finally out of prison, the AP reports. According to a review of his case finished...

Teen Who Tried to Burn Parents Alive Gets 9 Years

He had been disciplined over Facebook posts

(Newser) - An Ohio teen who tied his parents' door shut and set his house on fire has been spared the maximum sentence after pleading guilty to arson and attempted murder. Mitchell Simon, who was 16 when he tried to kill his parents last fall after they disciplined him for skipping band...

Dementia Patient, 81, Held in Hospital Fire That Killed 21

South Korea fire raises concerns about safety regulations

(Newser) - A fire believed set by an 81-year-old dementia patient blazed through a hospital ward for the elderly today and killed 21 people in South Korea, mostly from smoke inhalation, police and fire officials said. The fire on the second floor of the Hyosarang Hospital in Jangseong county also injured seven...

Dad Who 'Killed Family' Had All-American Life

Darrin Campbell is caught buying fireworks on store camera

(Newser) - Surveillance video shows Darrin Campbell—the Florida dad accused of killing his family and himself and setting their house on fire—buying fireworks in a store three days before the tragedy, ABC Action News reports. Campbell was "calm ... like any other customer," said a salesperson who cashed out...

Family of 4 Was Shot; Dad Bought Gas Cans

Florida arson looks like murder-suicide

(Newser) - As expected, it looks like the death of a Florida family of four in an arson is a murder-suicide. Authorities say all four victims found in the Tampa mansion—presumed to be Darrin Campbell; wife Kim; son Colin, 19; and daughter Megan, 16—had been shot, and the gun was...

4 Found Dead in Tennis Star's Burning Mansion

James Blake had rented mansion to family

(Newser) - Four people were found dead in a Tampa Bay-area mansion owned by tennis star James Blake after an explosion and fire—and though the fire appears to have been intentionally set, authorities believe it wasn't what killed the two adults and two teenagers. A police spokeswoman says two of...

Cops: Guy Burned Down House to Impress Woman

And they only found out about it due to ... stolen batteries

(Newser) - Well, this is one way to try and score a date: Police say a North Dakota man burned down a farmhouse ... to impress a lady. It was a very strange chain of events that ultimately led to this discovery, which got Fredrick Bohjanen Jr. charged with arson and other felonies...

Pet Shop Owner Jailed in Arson Case; 27 Pups Saved

All the dogs survived the fire

(Newser) - The owner of a business in Las Vegas has been charged with trying to burn her place down to collect insurance. But the reason Gloria Eun Hye Lee's case is getting so much attention is because her business happens to be a pet shop, and there were 27 puppies...

Stoned Ghost Hunters Torch Historic Mansion

Cops say trespassers got frustrated over no-show spirits

(Newser) - The owners of an abandoned Louisiana mansion are facing criticism after the house was burned down last week, allegedly by stoned ghost hunters, the Times-Picayune reports. "We made our best efforts to secure the land from trespassers," say the owners of the LeBeau Plantation near New Orleans. "...

America Has a Major Arson Problem
 America Has a 
 Major Arson 
 Problem 
investigation
Nov 25, 2013 7:03 AM CST

America Has a Major Arson Problem

Arsons are happening, but we're not reporting them to feds: investigation

(Newser) - America's arson records are a total mess, per a year-long Scripps National Investigation that sums up its findings with this statement: "three-fourths of the arsons ... went unreported [to the federal government], masking a major threat to public safety." Scripps went inside the world of arson, digging into...

After Power Is Cut, Candle Starts Fire That Kills 3 Boys

Bronx tragedy claims lives of young brothers

(Newser) - That three young brothers were killed last night during a house fire in the Bronx is tragedy enough. But then comes this detail from authorities: The power company had shut off electricity only a few days before, and the boys' 25-year-old mother started using candles around the house, reports the...

Hotel Security Boss Charged With Setting Fires to Skip Work

Mariano Barbosa arrested on arson charges

(Newser) - A New York City hotel security director didn't want to have to work so hard—so fire department sources tell the New York Daily News that he set fires to close down the very buildings he was protecting, so he could hang out in a comp room and drink....

Calif. Murder Suspect May Have Victim's Kids

Cops seek man who is believed to have killed woman, another child in fire

(Newser) - Cops in San Diego County think a man suspected of murdering a woman and child is on the run with two more children, reports CBS Los Angeles . Authorities are looking for James Lee DiMaggio, 40, and think he abducted Hannah Anderson, 16, and her 8-year-old brother, Ethan. The hunt began...

Guy Gets Rid of Demons By Setting Closet on Fire

Or at least that was Adam Glenn Hamilton's idea

(Newser) - If you're convinced your bedroom is beset by demons, what is there to do but set your closet on fire? That's the tactic Adam Glenn Hamilton used, according to police. The 30-year-old Arizona man is accused of wandering around near his Avondale home on July 20, reciting Bible...

Guy Mad at Neighbor&#39;s Tall Grass Torches House: Cops
Guy Mad at Neighbor's Tall Grass Torches House: Cops
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 19, 2013 11:17 AM CDT

Guy Mad at Neighbor's Tall Grass Torches House: Cops

Georgian faces arson charges after dispute gets a little out of hand

(Newser) - There's probably all kinds of good ways to resolve an argument with a neighbor about mowing the lawn, but none involve two cans of gas and a match. That's what 58-year-old Phillip Roger Bennett used to set his neighbor's house ablaze, say police in Cartersville, Ga. Luckily,...

Ex-Fire Captain Behind Virginia Arson Spree: Cops

Charles R. Smith III, girlfriend suspected of setting nearly 80 blazes

(Newser) - A former volunteer firefighter captain in Virginia and his girlfriend are behind one of the worst arson sprees in state history, police say. Charles R. Smith III and girlfriend Tonya Bundick were arrested soon after an abandoned residence was torched early yesterday. They have been charged in that fire but...

Man to Go Free 42 Years After Shaky Arson Conviction

Louis Taylor enters plea in deadly 1970 hotel fire in Arizona

(Newser) - Louis Taylor is about to leave prison for the first time since he was 16 years old, after spending almost 43 years in prison for an arson that he has always claimed he never committed—and which experts now say might not have even been arson at all. Taylor was...

Break in Mystery of Virginia Arsons?

Tonya Bundick charged in latest arson to hit Accomack County

(Newser) - Less than two weeks ago, the number of arsons that have baffled Virginia police since November stood at 72 . As of today, Accomack County has weathered 77 such blazes, but there may be a break in the case: Police have today charged Tonya Bundick with one felony count of arson,...

Virginia County Stumped by 72 Cases of Arson

No one hurt as fires hit abandoned buildings

(Newser) - Virginia's normally-tranquil east coast is in the midst of an arson wave. A Thursday night fire (dismally reported as occurring "after two nights without one") now brings the number of fires that have baffled police since November to 72, Delmarvanow.com reports. As Time explains, the fires...

Sister's Planned House Sale May Have Sparked NY Shooter

Thousands attend firefighter's funeral

(Newser) - Police are floating a possible motive for William Spengler's orgy of violence : His sister was planning to sell their house. Cheryl Spengler, who didn't get along with her live-in brother, had bought a house in Henrietta, New York, and was planning to sell the family home in Webster,...

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