Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 11, 1992 TAG: 9203110314
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
And, they claim, Atkins was so intent on making the fire look like an authentic accident that he told his wife to stay inside the burning trailer for a while - with their baby son - before feigning a back-window escape.
Atkins himself, meanwhile, was hanging out at a friend's trailer, perhaps dreaming of the insurance money he would reap, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Philip Baker told jurors Tuesday during opening arguments in Atkins' trial for arson and fraud.
"He was the driving force, the motivator of this scheme," Baker said of Atkins. "He was so callous he didn't even bother to show up at the scene of the fire."
That, Atkins' defense attorney countered, is exactly why Atkins should be acquitted.
He wasn't there, defense attorney Grady Donaldson said.
In fact, Donaldson pointed out in his opening argument, Atkins' wife, 28-year-old Lyle Rose Atkins, already has pleaded guilty to arson and fraud charges - similar to the ones with which her husband now is charged.
"Rose Atkins did this," Donaldson said. "Mr. Atkins was not there. He had no knowledge of her plans to do this."
Atkins pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to charges of arson and two counts of fraud that could carry a sentence of life plus 40 years in prison. The case was expected to continue at least through today.
The Atkins' Hardy Road Trailer Park mobile home was thoroughly charred in the July fire.
No one was injured. A neighbor helped Lyle Rose Atkins and her son climb out a back window to safety.
The Atkinses had been unable to make payments on the trailer and were late making payments to the electric company.
They also apparently had trouble paying for a television and two VCRs they had leased from Roanoke rent-to-own companies - prompting the fraud charges against Anthony Atkins.
Baker said the Atkins reported break-ins to the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, though none had occurred. The television equipment was erroneously reported missing, Baker said.
by CNB