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Fire Captain Casey investigated these fires and found that the same strange, yet simple device of cigarettes, matched and yellow lined paper had been used to start the fires. Episode 74 -- "Firestarter" (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories. Still, nobody was alarmed. He thought that the store was closing so he looked at his watch. He also maintains his innocence and continues efforts to appeal his case. A lot of true crime and music but I throw in life stuff too for the times I need a greater understanding of why Im like this. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and three counts of arson, though Orr maintained his innocence. This would seem to fit with the story of the primary suspect, who sources say may have been motivated by a deportation hearing against his mother that took place in LA County about a week and a half ago. In his defence, Orr said he had based the arson incidents of the novel on real life cases in which he had investigated, but it was entirely fictional. Some research. radcliff ky city council candidates 2020 Take the child and lets go!. John Leonard ORR, Defendant-Appellee. 0. However, police had enough circumstantial evidence to prove his involvement in the fires. By - June 6, 2022. Stiles go-to fictional incendiary device was made of a cigarette and matches held together with rubber bands so were the devices found at the real California fires, AP News reported. why did john leonard orr start firesjack paar cause of death. Giannini presented evidence from a UCLA forensic psychiatrist who said Orr was driven to torch buildings by a compulsion that he was powerless to control. [5] However, Orr, as an arson investigator, insisted that the cause was arson. In the darkness, Jim Obdam battled panic. After maintaining her father's innocence for years, she eventually came to believe he was guilty and broke off all contact with him.[32]. At that same meeting was Scott Baker of the California State Fire Marshals Office, who told Campuzanno about the series of arsons investigated by Casey. Lonestar formed in 1992 and John Rich was with them until January of 1998. The jury disagreed with this defence and found him guilty of murder in connection with the Oles fire. You just drive around the park, he said, rolling to a stop as he peered out an open window, and listen,' as observed by a journalist from the Los Angeles Times. folder_opendo soulmates separate and reunite Wildfires can fizzle out quickly or spread uncontrolled, consuming thousands of acres of land in a matter of hours. [3] Orr was on Casey's short list, but everyone on this short list was cleared of suspicion when their fingerprints were compared with the fingerprint that Casey had recovered from the piece of notebook paper found at one of the arson crime scenes. In March 1989, another meeting of arson experts in Pacific Grove, California, coincided with an outbreak of fires in the towns between the site of the conference and Glendale. Related: UPDATE: Investigators Release New Evidence in the Chilling, Years-Long Cold Case of the Long Island Serial Killer. The arsonist used incendiary timing-devices, which involved a lit cigarette that ignited three matches wrapped in lined yellow writing paper, which was secured by a rubber band. Imprisoned at. Investigators agreed the hardware store fire was an accident, but it was Orr who insisted there was an arsonist afoot. She may have heard Matthew asking when he was going to get his ice cream. In an article in the local paper dated 5 July 1990, he told how he had sacrificed his Independence Day holiday for the 11th year in row, so he could patrol the streets, looking for what he described as firecracker scofflaws, who flouted the law. Copyright 2021 The True Crime Database. A fire in a Pasadena, California, hardware store killed four people, including a 2-year-old child. they have a suspect in connection with the 55 fires, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Orr was the fire captain and arson inv He knew there were steps to an emergency exit in the back stockroom. Orr was correct, of course, because he set the blaze. [26], A jury in a California state court convicted Orr on all four murder charges and all but one of the arson counts on June 25, 1998. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. The connections and circumstantial evidence held ground, however. Passing by, John Orr said. Firefighter and arson investigator John Orr of California's Glendale Fire Department had a way of showing up very quickly at the site of a fire and going right to the point of origin. On October 10, 1984, a terrible tragedy struck South Pasadena, California. He was a man who fought fires himself, who arrived on the scene of the crime and deduced the truth a little too quickly: John Orr. Of great interest to the prosecution was the authors inclusion of a fire started in a department store called Cals, in which four people, including a grandmother and her 2-year-old grandson perished. Theres a fire!. He ran toward the south fire door searching for Ada and Matthew, and when he got there the cloud behind him had turned into a wall, a wall of very black smoke. He got his start by singing at Opryland USA in high school. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. All except John Orr. By 1991, fingerprint technology had advanced to the stage where a positive matched was confirmed, revealing the suspects identity which would shock even veteran police investigators, who suspected his involvement in almost 2,000 fires, making the Pillow Pyro the most prolific arsonist in American criminal history. He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The police were alerted by FIRST, and Orr was told that the device was a hoax. Just stupid people acting as stupid people do. Orrs defence attorneys Peter Giannini and Edward Rucker argued that the South Pasadena fire was ruled an electrical blaze and dismissed Orrs manuscript as pure fiction, comparing it with the 1991 movie Backdraft, which had also been written by a firefighter. Orr's story was earlier chronicled by bestselling true crime author Joseph Wambaugh in his book Fire Lover. A bell chimed in the lumber area: Ting ting ting. Thats how Billy Deal described it. Even at trial, Orr showed no remorse and an utter disregard for not only the lives he took, but the families he destroyed as well. Posted on . Those who perished were 50-year-old Ada Deal and her grandson, 2-year-old Matthew Troidl, 26-year-old mother-of-two Carolyn Kraus and Jimmy Cetina, a 17-year-old employee. The fiction book, titled Points of Origin, follows an arsonist by the name of Aaron Stiles, who sets businesses ablaze in California. Investigator Scott Baker of the California Fire Marshall Office spoke of his disappointment with Orr, who he considered a once trusted fireman and declared, He betrayed the honor of the brotherhood of the gals and the guys thatll work in this career field. Orrs daughter Lori spent many years maintaining her fathers innocence, however she eventually realised his guilt and subsequently broke off all contact with him. Orr has consistently claimed the novel is a work of fiction, and has no relation to any real-life events. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The same state court judge split eight to four in favor, and the judge in that prosecution, Robert J. Perry, said Orrs crimes showed Great violence and sophistication, and sentenced him to life plus 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Orr was right: the hardware store fire was an act of arson, and it wouldnt be the last. Download Fire Lover. . However, Orr, as an arson investigator, insisted that the cause was arson. There was also a detail that put Orr right at the scene before the actual store fire. Investigators finally found a fingerprint, and it pointed to a most unlikely suspect. But then a peculiar thing happened. A jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As he had during five-week trial, 49-year-old Orr had show no emotion during the brief hearing, and had declined to address the court. [17] Orr rushed to a nearby police explosives range, thinking it was a bomb. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? He was facing the death penalty, however his daughter Lori had testified on behalf of the defence, and it was her testimony that prevented him from being sent to death row. In the 1984 Pasadena fire, in which four lives were lost, two of them eerily matched the victims in Orrs book: Ada Deal, 52, and her grandson, Matthew Troidl, almost 3. Fingerprints recovered from one of the crime scenes was compared to several arson investigators in 1989, without success. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. Juni 2022. But dont be alarmed.. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said today that he believed officers apprehended the sole arsonist. Pyromania About John Orr Childhood A disorder in which one sets fire to an object on more than one occasion Done purposely or deliberately One is has a interest in, attraction to, or curiosity in fire and how it works One gains pleasure, gratification, or relief when sets fire Born April 29, 1949 Previously a fire captain and arson investigator It was a wall of flame. In January 1987, a convention for arson investigators from all over California was held in the city of Fresno. A novel he wrote called Points of Origin: Playing with Fire, gave explicit details of a firefighter turned arsonist who gets aroused by watching things burn. Jan. 2, 2012— -- Authorities in Los Angeles are reporting they have a suspect in connection with the 55 fires that have been set in the city over the last four days. When cigarettes and a scrap of paper connected the southern California fires to several fires further north, the hunt was on for a dangerous pyromaniac. From there, Rich went on to be one of the founding members of Lonestar. Though he still maintains his innocence to this day, John Orr was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder, and nearly two dozen counts of arson. Unfortunately for Orr, it was not the experience he hoped for. Investigators found the charred remnants of what appeared to be a simple incendiary device of a filter-tipped cigarette and matches, all held together with a rubber band, the tell-tale sign of an arsonist they dubbed the Pillow Pyro, because of his fondness for setting fires in fabric shops. ", Among those who covered the trial was award-winning journalist Frank Girardot, who would later collaborate with Orr's daughter Lori on a book about the case. Jim Obdam hurried toward the west end of the store, looking for customers. [25] The lead prosecutor on the case, Mike Cabral, opted to seek the death penalty in order to ensure that Orr would spend the rest of his life in prison. In that band, he played bass and sang high harmonies. A 2021 episode of HLNs Very Scary People featured him, titled "Firestarter: A Wall of Flames". On April 17, 1991, the print was matched to the Glendale arson expert John Leonard Orr. He added "it becomes a thrill, something that gives them purpose every day. In reflecting on his time in the military, Orr later said he did not like his commanding officers. While the fingerprint was telling, what further pushed authorities to have enough evidence to make an arrest was Orrs 350-page manuscript that could almost read like a confession. The presiding judge sentenced Orr to four concurrent terms of life without parole for murder, plus an additional 21 years in prison for arson. This material caused the fire to spread very quickly. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California.He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. The young clerk had been working in the hardware department all day and into the evening. -We, the jury in the above entitled case, find the defendant, John Leonard Orr, guilty of the crime of first-degree *** in violation of--NARRATOR: He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Infamous Serial Killers. why did john leonard orr start fires 10. They're just angry in general and so they take off and light fires.". Arson investigators examined the ruins and determined that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction. On October 10, 1984, in South Pasadena, California, a major fire broke out at an Ole's Home Center hardware store located in a shopping plaza. California is no stranger to fires, but a string of blazes set in the 1980s and early-90s left authorities searching for a skilled arsonist who was right under their noses. He had titled it Points of Origin: Playing with Fire, which was the story of an arsonist named Aaron Stiles who also worked as an arson investigator. He couldnt see what the young man was getting excited about. That arson count, for setting a fire in the Warner Bros. backlot, was subsequently dismissed at the request of the prosecution. craigslist orlando cars for sale by owner. This scintillating story was confiscated from the author s home at the time of his arrest. At 7:45 P.M. McClure called dispatch and requested that they send arson investigator John Orr from nearby Glendale Fire Department, probably the most accomplished arson sleuth within the several fire departments that rendered mutual aid in the area. Pleading for John Orr's life, his lawyers Monday called a psychiatrist who said the former Glendale arson investigator, who faces a possible death sentence for murder, was driven to torch. A fire in a Pasadena, California, hardware store killed four people, including a 2-year-old child. That steel door had dropped down. The fingerprints of those on the list was compared with the fingerprint recovered by Casey from the piece of notebook paper found at one of the arson crime scenes, and all ten suspects were cleared of suspicion. After hed ordered his firefighters off the roof of the hardware store, and after the interior attack was aborted, Captain Eisele found John Orr standing at the rear of his engine carrying a thirty-five-millimeter camera. Sign up for The Lineups newsletter, and get our most chilling reads delivered straight to your inbox. [The suspect] had the right stuff in his van, and we are very confident we found our man," Beck said. The defence read out a position of his manuscript which read, Aaron wanted the Cals fire to be called arson. At 7:30 P.M. on an October evening in South Pasadena, California, a middle-aged couple, Billy and Ada Deal, and their two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, Matthew William Troidl, pulled into the strip mall parking lot of Oles Home Center on Fair Oaks Avenue. In fact, Jim Obdam found two people browsing in hardware, looking at tools. ABC News consultant and former FBI Agent Brad Garrett described the typical arsonist as a "white male from mid-teens to 25 to 30 years old. John Leonard (February 25, 1939 - November 5, 2008) was an American literary, television, film, and cultural critic. He couldnt go any farther. He would also set small fires often in the grassy hills, in order to draw firefighters, leaving fires set in more congested areas unattended. manchester united annual turnover; what dallas city council district am i in why did john leonard orr start fires. Written by former Fire Captain John L. Orr Join the investigation as lead character, Arson Investigator Phil Langtry, searches every clue to uncover a serial arsonist. As an adult, he joined the Air Force and their fire-fighter school. This detail turned out to be true, and was known only to the childs grandfather, who was present at the store during the fire and only narrowly escaped. Help yourself, Ive got work to do, Eisele said. why did john leonard orr start fires 10. When he suddenly realized he was six feet from the emergency exit, he felt an energy rush and he lunged, pushing the bars, activating the alarm. A fictional Pasadena hardware store goes up in flames. There he handed out a flier which described the modus operandi of the suspected Pillow Pyro serial arsonist who was responsible for the Los Angeles fires. For example, one of Orrs fires took place at a Kmart shopping center, and so did one in the book, the LA Times reported. The narrative includes a scene of a firea fire that bore several striking similarities to the real-life 1984 blaze in South Pasadena. Scott Baker told producers of A Lie To Die For. Baker worked at the California Fire Marshal Office as an investigator, and he shared his disappointment with Orr as a once-trusted fireman. The details were similar to the Oles Home Center hardware store fire, and police considered the 350-page manuscript a confession. His parents divorced when he was young. This week on Reasonable Doubt, the team takes on the Raul and Cathy Sarinana were sentenced to death for abusing Would love your thoughts, please comment. December 4, 1991. It was 8:05 P.M. By some estimates, this one-time chief arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department . Writings in the American Fire Journal of former Glendale, California fire chief, arson investigator, and convicted arsonist John Leonard Orr, 1987 to 1989. Ada Deal was looking at merchandise on an end cap at the foot of the aisle. Cabral said, the lesson that this case teaches us is that no one should be above suspicion when it comes to criminal activity. Jurors were later deadlocked 8-4 in favour of the death penalty, and State law requires a death penalty recommendation to be unanimous. Yes! Consequently, Campuzanno and two of his colleagues met with Casey, obtained a copy of the fingerprint that Casey had recovered, and this time matched it to Orr on April 17, 1991, with the help of improved fingerprint technology. [22] After much deliberation, a federal jury in Fresno convicted Orr on July 31, 1992 of three counts of arson, while acquitting him on two other counts. The shocking story of arson investigator John Leonard Orr began in 1984. Of the multiple fires that were set, one of them resulted in death. He loved the inadvertent attention he derived from the newspaper coverage and hated it when he wasnt properly recognized'. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 1. [6] This, sadly, does not mean that the deaths of his 4 victims were rapid. Tom Campuzanno of the Los Angeles Arson Task Force, attended a meeting on 29 March 29, 1991, of the Fire Investigators Regional Strike Team (FIRST), which had been formed by smaller cities in an around Los Angeles County that did not have their own staff of arson investigators. Orrs defence attorneys Peter Giannini and Edward Rucker argued that the South Pasadena fire was ruled an electrical blaze and dismissed Orrs manuscript as pure fiction, comparing it with the 1991 movie Backdraft, which had also been written by a firefighter. A task force of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents. And he was out. John Orr, a former Glendale arson investigator, was uncannily close at hand when fires broke out in Southern California in the 1980s. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Related: Robert Fry: How One Thanksgiving Night Kicked Off A Four-Year Murder Spree, Weve got to leave the store, Jim Obdam told her.