Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
To some, fire destroys. But to arson investigators, it leaves behind a trail of evidence. The remnants become a guide through the crime scene, where burn patterns can lead to the fire's flashpoint and show how the flames ignited.
"Even though a structure may be completely destroyed, you cannot create or destroy matter. You just change it," said Frank Williams, chief arson investigator for the state police in Richmond.
For more than 20 years Williams has pulled on his dirtiest clothes to wade through the remains of fires. In Virginia, he said, all fires are presumed accidental unless an investigator can prove otherwise.
Like plodding through a life-size puzzle, the arson investigator backtracks his way to the fire's beginnings.
Sometimes the fire scene combined with witness reports can solve a crime quickly, Williams said. In other cases, it takes time to sift through the materials for clues.
"If someone commits the crime of arson, they choose the time, the day of the week, they plan it well and establish an alibi," Williams said. "Sometimes it's easy to determine if its been set, but the difficulty is in linking a person" to it.
Roanoke Detective Alvin Dudley knows the challenges of investigating arson. For two decades he probed suspicious fires for the city. In 1987 he helped solve a fire that killed two children in their Southeast Roanoke home. In the end, it was the evidence found in the gutted house, and on the perpetrator, that led Dudley to his main suspect - the children's father, David Reedy.
"The case was cleared through the series of circumstantial evidence that took place before, during and after the fire," Dudley said. "We knew the fire was set inside the house while [Reedy] was still inside. There was gas found at the point of origin and there was gas found on Reedy's shirt."
Reedy was convicted of arson and two counts of first-degree murder. A jury sentenced him to life in prison.
Who thought to even test Reedy's shirt? A vigilant fire marshal who accompanied Reedy to the emergency room that day, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom, who prosecuted the case. Often, even with all the efforts to disguise the crime, something is left behind, he said.
Each year, between 2,000 and 2,500 arson cases occur in Virginia. An arrest is made in about 25 percent of those cases. Nationally, between 2 and 5 percent are resolved, Williams said.
Cooperation and pooling of information among police, fire investigators and insurance agents is important in resolving cases. Investigators look for similarities among cases, in particular location of fire, what started it, how the perpetrators entered the building or the time the fire was set.
"Once we determine a crime has been committed, then the investigation is handled like any other crime," Williams said. "We look for a motive and who would gain by setting it."
by CNB