Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060228
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium
TYSON JURY RETURNING TO QUESTIONS
A deadly fire early Wednesday at the hotel where the jurors for the Mike Tyson rape trial were sequestered forced a one-day delay of the proceedings.The mayor requested a federal arson investigation and security was increased at the courthouse, but fire officials didn't consider the fire suspicious.
The fire at the Indianapolis Athletic Club killed two firefighters and a hotel guest. Twelve people were injured, including two firefighters hospitalized with critical burns. Jurors in nightclothes were evacuated safely and taken to another hotel.
Hours later, the former heavyweight champion showed up briefly at the City-County Building, where he is being tried on charges of rape and criminal deviate conduct. Tyson, 25, faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
The trial was postponed until this morning, when the 15 jurors will be asked whether they heard or saw anything about the trial while they waited on the sidewalk outside the hotel after their evacuation, most clad in coats thrown over their pajamas. They were taken to an undisclosed location.
Sheriff's deputies tightened security at the courthouse with a walk-through metal detector for media and spectators and a bomb-sniffing dog.
Marion Superior Court Judge Patricia J. Gifford banned cameras from the second floor, with the exception of three pool cameras.
Mayor Stephen Goldsmith requested federal arson investigators, citing the "unusual coincidence of the proximity of the jury."
Two experts from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will help with the investigation, Public Safety Director Michael Beaver said.
But Lt. Jerry Bivens, a Fire Department arson investigator, said: "The fire does not look suspicious to us." He said early signs indicated an electrical fire in a third-floor lounge in the seven-story, 72-year-old hotel about five blocks from the courthouse.
The two firefighters died in the lounge when flames flared into the ceiling. The other victim, a businessman from Illinois, was found on a sixth-floor stairwell, apparently overcome by smoke.
Keywords:
FATALITY
Memo: longer version ran in the New River and State editions