[31] Federal ATF agent Mike Matassa believes that Orr set nearly 2,000 fires between 1984 and 1991. Deadly Secrets A Fire Inside, airs at 9:00 p.m. on Investigation Discovery. John Leonard Orr's unpublished book, "Points of Origin," detailed an arson spree that eerily mirrored his own and helped authorities close the net on him. California is no stranger to fires, and with such windy, dry and often hot weather conditions from spring through to late autumn, there can be moderate to devastating wildfires which can cause immeasurable damage to life, property and nature. She answered, Ill check my area! And then she rushed through the hardware department looking for stragglers. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Yes, it must be a closing announcement, he thought. The police were alerted by FIRST, and Orr was told that the device was a hoax. Glendale Fire Chief Johan Leonard Orr. By compare odysseus emotions with telemachus when they are reunitedcompare odysseus emotions with telemachus when they are reunited Billy peered through that door, that fireproof barricade, toward the west side of the store, and he saw a big cloud of smoke in the center of the space. The irony is that the firebug John Orr was someone entrusted to protect the public against fire. He was, for a much longer time, the most prolific serial arsonist of the 20th century. [11] Orr's fingerprint did not match. In fact, Jim Obdam found two people browsing in hardware, looking at tools. A fictional Pasadena hardware store goes up in flames. Related: Terrifyingly Real: 8 Award-Winning True Crime Books. The district court found the manuscript was prejudicial because "the points of origin and methods of starting the arson fires described in the manuscript do not appear to the Court to be so unique as to justify the conclusion that defendant must have had first-hand . As he betrayed his department and the citizens of Southern California he swore to protect, hed swagger onto arson scenes to solve investigations with stunning speed and accuracy. As part of Hamilton College's prison writing initiative, The American Prison Writing Archive,[37] Orr was able to publish several autobiographical accounts of his experiences as a prisoner in the American prison complex. Could it possibly be one of their own ? Everyone was able to make an escape, except for four people: 2-year-old Matthew Troidl and his grandmother, Ada Deal, 50, and two employees: Carolyn Kraus, 26, and 17-year-old Jimmy Cetina. "That's a very powerful statement." In the darkness, Jim Obdam battled panic. 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. 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. His guilty plea was pursuant to a plea bargain agreement, for an eight count indictment that would see him eligible for parole from federal prison in the year 2002. The main character in Points of Origin, Aaron Stiles, was a firefighter for whom the fixation of starting fires was more exciting than sex. 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. In 1984, a 19 year old hardware store employee named Jim, was walking from one end of the store to the other, when he noticed something odd in one of the aisels. Thank you for supporting our partners, who make it possible for The Lineup to continue publishing the true crime and creepy stories you love. Investigators finally found a fingerprint, and it pointed to a most unlikely suspect. Investigators deemed the fire an accidental electrical blaze, but fire captain John Orr was certain that it had been a case of arson. Related: Wayne Nance: The Suspected Serial Murderer Who Was Shot and Killed by His Own Victim. Working in the housewares department that evening was seventeen-year-old Jimmy Cetina. Fire Captain Orr was active with the first investigation team and attended the majority of these arson investigations. Over the course of a decade, he was responsible for hundreds of such cases, burning homes and parcels of wilderness. Points of Truth: Revelations of "the most prolific serial arsonist of the 20th century". He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. 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. Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. One of the devices found was partially wrapped in yellow paper, and Captain Marvin Casey, of the Bakersfield Fire Department, held suspicions that it was the work of one of the experts attending the convention. During the meeting an unusual number of suspicious fires broke out in and around both Fresno and further south in Bakersfield. [3] Most notably, a film titled Point of Origin, starring Ray Liotta as John Orr, was released by HBO in 2002; the film's title is a reference to Orr's novel. The subsequent fire would spread quickly through the linen pillowcases resulting in uncontrollable fires which caused devastation. 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. [12] As a result, a large task force, nicknamed the Pillow Pyro Task Force (a reference to the arson fires set in pillows) was formed to apprehend the arsonist. He was all alone in the smoke and heat. He was a high-school senior and a talented athlete. Billy looked around. It was hot and he was burning. The findings of the hardware store investigation showed that the fire caught very quickly, less than five minutes after starting, and spread across the entire Pasadena hardware store in highly-flammable polyurethane products which caused the fire the flashover rapidly. By - June 6, 2022. 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. Acting on his hunch that the arsonist was a fellow fire expert, Casey compared the list of attendees from the previous Fresno conferece with the list of atendees at the newly held Pacific Grove conference, and was able to compile a short list of ten possible suspects. 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. Investigations later showed that the fire started in highly-flammable polyurethane products, which caught fire very quickly, causing the fire to flashover very rapidly. Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Share Orr was born on April 26, 1949, in Los Angeles, California. in fact Joseph Wambaugh wrote a book called "Fire Lover," is about Captain John Orr. McClure had found the point of origin easily enough, in the grocery racks piled high with bags of potato chips. By the time fire crews arrived at the scene the building was almost completely destroyed and four people had died in the blaze. Orr wrote in his manuscript that the ficitional grandmother was going to take her toddler grandson out for mint chocolate chip ice cream after their trip to the hardware store. He told them to leave the store at once. It wasnt his fault. In the 1980s and 1990s, Los Angeles was plagued by a series of fires that cost millions of dollars in . Why? He was then invited to test for the LAPD. Desperate to be a firefighter, he applied to the Glendale Fire Department (at the time the Glendale FD was at the bottom in Los Angeles County for pay); he was accepted in 1974. . He was headed for the front of the store, toward the south aisle, and there he was astonished to see a column of dark smoke rising from a display rack, all the way to the ceiling. He saw people heading toward the exits, but still was not alarmed when he arrived at the paint department. Other smaller fires were then started in open grassy hills to draw firefighters away from those set in congested areas, which would be left unattended. John Leonard Orr was a well-respected arson investigator in Southern California he conducted fire investigation classes, was active with the first investigation team, wrote articles for magazines and often spoke on local TV when a fire broke out. Connect with fellow true crime enthusiasts, Access to the FULL back catalogue of Case Files. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. Five people are killed. By some estimates, this one-time chief arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department . why did john leonard orr start fires. In the second of our Main Channel Minisodes, Tom and Ben explore the unsettling case of John Leonard Orr.Follow our socials: @couldmurderapodWritten & presen. Speculation has been that he wanted his work to be recognized. Writings in the American Fire Journal of former Glendale, California fire chief, arson investigator, and convicted arsonist John Leonard Orr, 1987 to 1989. [6] When asked to sentence Orr to the death penalty, the same jury split eight to four in favor. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Serial arsonist John Leonard Orr, a former fire captain whose fires killed four people. In response to this, a large task force known as the Pillow Pyro Task Force was formed to identify and apprehend the arsonist. Orr was right: the hardware store fire was an act of arson, and it wouldnt be the last. and gorgeous blooms of fire. No products in the cart. This was the case with one of the most famous serial arsonists in Los Angeles history, John Leonard Orr. 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. The jury disagreed with this defence and found him guilty of murder in connection with the Oles fire. "I feel very good that we've got the right guy. He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter and novelist. Then he noticed the north fire door had closed. [5] However, Orr, as an arson investigator, insisted that the cause was arson. This turned out to be true in real life, and the only person who knew this information was the childs grandfather, who was at the store at the time and narrowly escaped, Assistant District Attorney Michael Cabral told producers of A Lie To Die For. Cabral said they concluded that Orr must have near the fire in order to know such specific information. 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. He was one of three boys. John Orr told McClure that in his opinion, the Albertson's fire was deliberately set, as is usually the case with fires in retail stores during business hours when customers are present. [23] Orr maintains his innocence, notwithstanding his subsequent guilty plea on March 24, 1993, to three more counts of arson in Los Angeles after reaching a plea agreement that saw him paroled from federal prison in 2002. Federal Judge Oliver Wanger sentenced Orr to 30 years in prison. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. When they return to watch firemen fight the blaze, an arsonist may be thinking, "I created this scene, I'm actually controlling what they're doing because I started the fire," Garrett said. During a search of his home investigators found a 350-page manuscript for a novel Orr had written, which read almost like a confession. You should probably leave the cart here, he said, more forcefully. Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. 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. Following high school, Orr joined the US Air Force; in 1967, he shipped out for basic training, later transferring to Air Force firefighting school. And while Eisele awaited the arrival of engine companies, and while Jim Obdam was led to the back of an ambulance, and while Billy Deal stood in front of Oles Home Center, where he would remain for twenty-two hours, and while John Orr shot film of the conflagration, the roof caved in and a geyser of flame and sparks exploded high into the night. Orr studied fire science at a local college and worked at a 7-Eleven and as store security at Sears part time. He was a. His modus operandi was to set fires using an incendiary timing device, usually comprising a lit cigarette with three matches wrapped in ruled yellow writing paper and secured by a rubber band, in stores while they were open and populated. The most informative, researched, and entertaining true crime stories on the internet. why did john leonard orr start firesfitz henry lane house 6 3, 2022 Posted in 2 bedroom house for rent in new brunswick, nj Are there any more people in your section? he asked Carolyn Krause. The character also happened to be a firefighter, and the fires he set paralleled with the ones investigators were probing. ", Garrett speculated that this may be a contributing factor to the most recent string of arsons: "It would appear that primary motive may not be killing people, the primary motive may be attention because he is setting fires to vehicles that are not apparently occupied. Orr continued with his career, and uncanny ability to sniff out the root cause of accidental fires and deliberate cases of arson. Copyright 2021 The True Crime Database. ", 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. But then a peculiar thing happened. John Orr, an arson investigator and fire captain in Southern California, was convicted of setting three fires on his way home from a convention of his colleagues in 1987. He was a man who understood how fires spread and how firefighters responded to and fought blazes. [14] By cross-referencing the print with a database of all past applicants for law enforcement posts in Los Angeles County, they discovered that the print was an exact match to Orr's left ring finger. what day does pilot flying j pay; western power distribution. But dont be alarmed.. All except John Orr. A Lie To Die For Sneak: Retired Fire Investigator Says He Thought Serial Arsonist Might Be A 'Wannabe' Investigator. Jun 29, 2017. Beitrags-Autor: Beitrag verffentlicht: Juni 4, 2022 Beitrags-Kategorie: payday loan threatening to serve papers Beitrags-Kommentare: men's black jade ring men's black jade ring He was stationed in Spain (where he went on to marry his high school girlfriend); in 1970, he was transferred to Montana. True story of John Leonard Orr, a serial arsonist who is believed to have started more than 2000 fires leaving victims and damage. "Anger is associated with any form of destructive arson." 92-50235 in the Court of Appeals for . Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Construction. Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. / A Trial Not For the Squeamish. The state sentence ran consecutively with his federal sentence for arson.[27][28]. He was a respected authority and often in the press. This issue would be later debated in courts of law. In the excerpt below, Wambaugh recounts the tragic 1984 fire at Oles Home Center. Moreover, he kept them all together in his car. Orr wrote. He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. Or perhaps not. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The connections and circumstantial evidence held ground, however. During March 1989, another series of arsons were committed along the California coast in close conjunction with a conference of arson investigators in Pacific Grove, California. An episode of the PBS science series Nova titled "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" (airing November 14, 1995) chronicled his story. A California appeals court vacated nine years of his state sentence on March 15, 2000, finding that the burning of homes in the College Hills blaze had only been incidental to his objective of starting a brush fire. [] The district court found the manuscript was prejudicial because "the points of origin and methods of starting the arson fires described in the manuscript do not appear to the Court to be so unique as to justify the conclusion that defendant must have had first-hand knowledge of the facts . [16] Authorities hid a tracking device in his personal vehicle. He would often arrive at the scene of a fire, stroke his moustache whilst looking up at the sky and then point to an area, declaring it to be the point of origin. With Orrs arrest, arson investigators determined that the number of brush fires in the nearby foothill areas around Los Angeles had decreased by over ninety percent. 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. John Orr was born and raised in Los Angeles. This sentence was to begin upon his release from Federal custody. A fuel's composition, including moisture . [15], Orr was then investigated and watched for several months. ", "They feel outside of the world, they're angry at the world. After Orr was found to be present at another suspicious fire, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment. They want to take revenge sometimes and that is one of the motives of arsonists is revenge. California State Prison, Centinela. Orr had originally wanted to be a police officer, but had failed the entrance exam; instead he became a fire investigator and career fire officer. He betrayed the trust, E.R. 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. Campuzanno and two of his colleagues met with Casey, who shared his belief that the perpetrator was an arson investigator from the Los Angeles area. Five people die, two of which were a woman and her toddler grandson. In that band, he played bass and sang high harmonies. In rare cases, blazes can even be set by firefighters as part of a sort of hero impulse. -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. He got his start by singing at Opryland USA in high school. Related: Robert Fry: How One Thanksgiving Night Kicked Off A Four-Year Murder Spree, Weve got to leave the store, Jim Obdam told her. In late 1990 and early 1991, another series of arson fires broke out in southern California, this time in and around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. 24-10-2022 48 mins. As an adult, he joined the Air Force and their fire-fighter school. I do think that is a component to every serial arsonist, the thrill of setting the fire and the power it gives them as a result of killing people, torching property it's like look, look what I have done, it's like a product for them. It has been postulated that people preferred to live in fire-prone places because the burning provided them advantages for hunting, foraging, cultivating, and livestock herding ( Pyne 1995 ). Orr was arrested in December 1991 after federal investigators, suspecting his link to fires, began to track his movements. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and three counts of arson, though Orr maintained his innocence. 0. Ada Deal put some merchandise into the cart behind her grandson, Matthew. [34] The investigation that led to Orr's arrest and conviction was recounted on the episode "Diary of a Serial Arsonist" of the A&E Network's true crime series Cold Case Files[35] and also on an episode of Casefile True Crime Podcast. Yes! Orr wrote in the manuscript that the fictional grandmother was going to take her grandson out for mint chocolate chip ice cream after their trip to the hardware store. Read on for an excerpt of Fire Lover, and then download the book! He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. Now, why it started or how it started is something - is a different color. He was also ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution. A young man on a forklift jumped off the vehicle and cried, My God, its a fire! And he took off running. On June 26, 1998, a jury in a California state court convicted Orr of four counts of first-degree murder, in relation to the 1984 hardware store fire, with special circumstances in a 25 count indictment, deadlocking on only one of the 25 counts, which was subsequently dismissed at the request of the prosecution. [The suspect] had the right stuff in his van, and we are very confident we found our man," Beck said. In the 1980s and 1990s, Los Angeles was plagued by a series of fires that cost millions of dollars in damages and claimed four lives. He couldnt go any farther. After maintaining her father's innocence for years, she eventually came to believe he was guilty and broke off all contact with him.[32]. Albert Breer. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. In the nearby town of Tulare, another drugstore and fabric shop went up in flames, followed by a fire which broke out in a display of dried flowers in a Bakersfield crafts shop. Investigators concluded the arsonist, who they nicknamed the Pillow Pyro, started the fires by using incendiary timing-devices that were left inside stores during daytime when populated with customers and employees. Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral and Sandra Flannery presented evidence that showed Orr had engaged in what they described as a distinctive pattern of criminal behaviour, in which he set fires during daytime hours in polyfoam materials in the rear of occuid businesses and used a signature time-delay device. 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. "Frank Girardot uncovers another side to serial arsonist John Orr in 'Burned: Pyromania, Murder, And A Daughter's Nightmare', "Local Reporter's Book Tells a Fiery Tale Pasadena Now", "True-Crime Book Chronicles South Pasadena Arson at Ole's Hardware | South Pasadena Review", "Burned: Pyromania, Murder, and a Daughter's Nightmare", Hunt for the Serial Arsonist: Program Overview, Diary of a Serial Arsonist/Lost Clue episode preview. The True Crime Database is an ongoing project, with thousands of hours of research already invested. [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. That particular detail of the story mirrored a real fire from 1984, at Oles Home Centre in South Pasadena, in which four people had died, including 50-year-old Ada Deal and her grandson, 2-year-old Matthew Troidl, which had originally been ruled an accident. Ada said she was going to the paint department. Additionally, two fabric stores belonging to the same chain were set on fire, which was the case in real life as well. But arson investigator John Orr insisted that the fire was deliberately set. From there, Rich went on to be one of the founding members of Lonestar. "Arson: The Scorched-Earth Obsession - Newsweek Magazine, November 5, 2007. Featured photo: Glendale Fire Department; Additional images: Wikipedia; "Forensic Files" via Medstar Television. John Leonard Orr, Court Case No. At his federal trial, John Leonard Orr was convicted of three counts of arson in a five count indictment, and the Judge in that case sentenced him to three consecutive terms of ten years in prison. But suddenly some people ran through the fire door and yelled, Get outta here! A shopping plaza hardware store caught fire, claiming four lives in the savage blaze. 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. A jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He couldnt see what the young man was getting excited about. Is anyone feeling that the mom has strong narcissistic vibes, I worked on both cases. Magazine covers for the Daring Detective publication for the year 1940. A fire in a Pasadena, California, hardware store killed four people, including a 2-year-old child. He loved the inadvertent attention he derived from the newspaper coverage and hated it when he wasnt properly recognized'. Albeit anonymously. 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. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. John! Related: The Best True Crime Documentaries on Netflix You Can Stream This April. He took the plea deal when it became apparent that he could not afford to mount a defense and stood little chance at trial. [21] Furthermore, arson investigators determined that after Orr was arrested, the number of brush fires in the nearby foothill areas decreased by more than 90 percent. [7] This, combined with the recovery of a single unmatched fingerprint left on a piece of notebook paper as part of a time-delay incendiary device,[8] led Captain Marvin G. Casey of the Bakersfield Fire Department (BFD) to suspect that an arson investigator from the Los Angeles area was responsible for these arsons.[9]. With the Points of Origin evidence, however circumstantial, investigators had reason to suspect that Orr was responsible. In January 1987, a convention for arson investigators from all over California was held in the city of Fresno. The young clerk had been working in the hardware department all day and into the evening. 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. John Orr was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder on June 26, 1998. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. It had been a long shift for Jim Obdam. What was the cause of the John Leonard Orr fire? by John L. Orr Paperback. Carolyn Krause was working in the paint department that evening, so she may well have seen the fifty-year-old grandmother pushing her grandson Matthew William in a shopping cart. A federal grand jury handed down an indictment, and he was arrest on December 4, 1991. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. 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. John Orr grew up in Los Angeles, dreaming of one day pursuing a career in law enforcement. And there was an unintelligible announcement. Colleagues thought he might have a sixth sense. A jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Do you mind if I shoot some pictures?. Passing by, John Orr said. Investigations showed that the fire was deliberately started in highly flammable polyurethane products, which caught fire very quickly, causing the fire to flashover very rapidly. In May 1991, Orr discovered the tracking device hidden in his vehicle, but he did not become aware of a second tracking device later installed in November 1991 inside his city vehicle. There was nothing. JOSEPH: For the 10 years prior to John's arrest, there were an average of 67 brush fires per year in the hills above Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena . It was bright orange and raging. 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. On 10 October 1984, a large fire broke out at an Oles Home Center hardware store located in a shopping plaza in South Pasadena, California. Orr, a former fire captain is believed to be responsible for nearly 2,000 fires in the Los Angeles area between 1984 and 1991. [19] Orr was arrested on December 4, 1991 and was charged with arson for a series of fires not related to the 1984 South Pasadena Ole's fire. While John Orr was in custody, investigators determined that the number of brush fires set in nearby foothill areas decreased by almost 90%. From the mid-1980s to 1991, a wave of arsons swept through Central and Southern California.
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