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On October 10, 1984, a terrible tragedy struck South Pasadena, California. He thought that the store was closing so he looked at his watch. An episode of the PBS science series Nova titled "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" (airing November 14, 1995) chronicled his story. 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. He would also set small fires often in the grassy hills, in order to draw firefighters, leaving fires set in more congested areas unattended. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. One particular fire destroyed a piece of television history, when a blaze was started at a Warner Brothers lot, which burnt down the set of the The Waltons television show. It was 8:05 P.M. Among them are a woman and her 3-year-old grandson, Matthew. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. "That's a very powerful statement." 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. A fictional Pasadena hardware store goes up in flames. The latest episode of Deadly Secrets on Investigation Discovery explores this distressing case. She answered, Ill check my area! And then she rushed through the hardware department looking for stragglers. Unfortunately for Orr, it was not the experience he hoped for. During his arson spree, John Orr was given the nickname the Pillow Pyro by arson investigators. It wasnt his fault. In the 1980s and 1990s, Los Angeles was plagued by a series of fires that cost millions of dollars in . Orr later found the device and removed it. His arms, neck, and ears all suffered second- and third-degree burns. Lonestar formed in 1992 and John Rich was with them until January of 1998. 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. Billy wanted to buy some cheap two-by-fours, so he headed for the lumber display, which was between the north and south fire doors. When I start to read John Leonard, it is as though I, while simply looking for the men's room, . John Orr showed up very quickly, and he explained to McClure about the volatility of potato chips, that the oils in the chips and the bag material are highly combustible, a sack of solid fuel. 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. John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and mass murderer. He then approached the Los Angeles Fire Department, only to be rejected once again. ", 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. 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. He was also found guilty of committing upwards of 20 other crimes, including setting a blazing fire in the College Hills section of Glendale, which destroy 67 residential homes. As Leonard recalled his own advice: "I told Barry, before he started shooting, 'When someone delivers a funny line, I hope you don't cut to another actor to get a reaction, like a grin or a . 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. He continued to protest his innocence, despite his guilty plea on March 24, 1993, to three more counts of arson, including a 1990 fire at a Builders Emporium in North Hollywood, and two others near Atescadero in 1989. 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. 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. He couldnt see, and hoped he could feel the steps, but his thoughts were fragmenting, and he began praying. But though the hungry flames couldnt reach him, the trailing heat did. In Points of Origin, the protagonist set a Pasadena hardware store ablaze. With the Points of Origin evidence, however circumstantial, investigators had reason to suspect that Orr was responsible. Scouts and coaches who knew him in other NFL cities were actively trying to . The young clerk had been working in the hardware department all day and into the evening. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. Ships from and sold by Betelgeuse Global. All except John Orr. In January 1987, a convention for arson investigators from all over California was held in the city of Fresno. "Arson: The Scorched-Earth Obsession - Newsweek Magazine, November 5, 2007. Orr was born on April 26, 1949, in Los Angeles, California. 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 . While leaving a May 1991 fire conference in San Luis Obispo, California, he discovered the tracking device. [21] Burned features several court documents, fresh interviews with Orr and never-before-revealed evidence. Investigations later showed that the fire started in highly-flammable polyurethane products, which caught fire very quickly, causing the fire to flashover very rapidly. 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. ", 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. December 4, 1991. But the intensity and movement of a wildfire ultimately depends on three factors: fuel, weather and topography. 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. Albeit anonymously. Do you mind if I shoot some pictures?. Of course, Orr was never quite as clever as he thought. One of fires in Orrs book had taken place at a K-Mart shopping centre, the same place where the Pillow Pyro had burnt down. After investigations done later, it emerged that the fire started in a highly flammable substance made from polyurethane products. Magazine covers for the Master Detective publication for the year 1955. 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. 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. Billy looked around. [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. 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. Yukio Yamaji / Said he could not forget the feeling of killing his mother. 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. Construction. John Orr as one of the investigators insisted that the cause of the fire was arson. 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. During the LA riots, triggered by the April 29 acquittal of police officers charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King, John Orr was under electronically monitored home detention, awaiting trial for starting at least a dozen fires throughout California. Dylan Eason and Isaiah Churchwell were convicted of murdering Cynthia William "Patrick" Alexander remains in prison for murder. Albert Breer. 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 defence read out a position of his manuscript which read, Aaron wanted the Cals fire to be called arson. Related: The Best True Crime Documentaries on Netflix You Can Stream This April. By compare odysseus emotions with telemachus when they are reunitedcompare odysseus emotions with telemachus when they are reunited She may have heard Matthew asking when he was going to get his ice cream. And there was an unintelligible announcement. Orr was a respectable fire captain with a stellar reputation, and thats what hindered fire investigators from questioning him about what he was doing there. A federal grand jury handed down an indictment, and he was arrest on December 4, 1991. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in April 1971. [29] Orr began his state sentence upon his release from federal custody in 2002. He told them to leave the store at once. according to Dr. Joel Dvoskin, a member of the American Board of Forensic Psychology. The hunt for an arsonist is a personal mission for Godfrey, who worked in California when a fellow firefighter was convicted of setting about 2,000 fires in the Los Angeles area in the 1980s and 1990s. school of professional studies acceptance rate duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo 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 . Orr was the fire captain and arson inv The most informative, researched, and entertaining true crime stories on the internet. This issue would be later debated in courts of law. It left the remainder of the sentence untouched, all but assuring that Orr will die in prison. 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. [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. In 1984, California firefighters had battled ten arson fires in three weeks. ", However, in this case, that may not be the motivation, according to Robert Rowe the CEO of Pyrocop, Inc. "I don't believe that this particular individual is sticking around to watch his work," he said, adding that he thinks the culprit's aim is most likely to "create as much damage and wreak as much havoc as possible.". why did john leonard orr start firesjack paar cause of death. 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. Posted on . 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. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. More fires followed at an alarming rate, that were soon suspected to be the work of the same individual, primarily because of the numerous similarities. Sign up for The Lineups newsletter, and get our most chilling reads delivered straight to your inbox. The main character in Points of Origin, Aaron Stiles, was a firefighter for whom the fixation of starting fires was more exciting than sex. No products in the cart. It was concluded that Orr must have been in close proximity to the fire to have known such details. He had good looks, and had recently entered a Bullocks department store modeling competition and won it. [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. He is a TEACHER! A fire in a Pasadena, California, hardware store killed four people, including a 2-year-old child. why did john leonard orr start fires. The jury disagreed with this defence and found him guilty of murder in connection with the Oles fire. port st lucie to orlando airport shuttle; pytest run test multiple times with different parameters; standing broad jump world record; main topic and key details first grade 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. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ In one chapter from a 350-page manuscript, a firefighter-turned-firebug sets businesses across California ablaze. Five people die, two of which were a woman and her toddler grandson. It was at that time that police began monitoring Orr. He needed this job. In January 1987, a convention for arson investigators from California was held in the city of Fresno. The shocking story of arson investigator John Leonard Orr began in 1984. Posted on . By the late 1990s and early 1991, another series of fires began in Southern California, this time centred in and around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The book chronicles acts of arson and bears several striking similarities with the real-life 1984 fire. They want to take revenge sometimes and that is one of the motives of arsonists is revenge. He betrayed the trust, E.R. He also was mentioned in the 12th episode of the second season of 9-1-1: Lone Star. radcliff ky city council candidates 2020 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. He provided them with a copy of the fingerprint that he had recovered from one of the crime scenes, and Campuzanno used improved fingerprint technology to locate a suspect. 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. He was just about to give up. In the darkness, Jim Obdam battled panic. 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. He was then invited to test for the LAPD. [5] However, Orr, as an arson investigator, insisted that the cause was arson. Orr would often write articles for magazines about the recent rash of fires, and when a fire broke out he often spoke on local television with a clam and experienced voice, explaining his findings to the citizens of Southern California. He was convinced that the cause was arson. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. His actions continued to be watched. It didnt take this long. Thank you for supporting our partners, who make it possible for The Lineup to continue publishing the true crime and creepy stories you love. But dont be alarmed.. Jim Obdam hurried toward the west end of the store, looking for customers. Over the course of a decade, he was responsible for hundreds of such cases, burning homes and parcels of wilderness. John Orr was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder on June 26, 1998. Orr passed all the tests except for those based on mental health, prompting the Police Department to send him a letter saying he was unsuitable. The narrative includes a scene of a firea fire that bore several striking similarities to the real-life 1984 blaze in South Pasadena. The fire took less than five minutes to spread across the entire Pasadena hardware store, and four people were killed, as told on A Lie To Die For, which airs Sunday nights on Oxygen. In response to this, a large task force known as the Pillow Pyro Task Force was formed to identify and apprehend the arsonist. 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 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. 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. A task force of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents. The first such incident was started in a Fresno drugstore, when a sleeping bag display was set alight, whilst across the street another fire engulfed a fabric shop. Magazine covers for the Daring Detective publication for the year 1940. Episode 74 -- "Firestarter" (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE) MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories. Eisele wished that Orr had turnout gear in his car, but since the arson investigator was in civilian clothes and hadnt offered to help, the fire captain assumed he did not. in fact Joseph Wambaugh wrote a book called "Fire Lover," is about Captain John Orr. [1] During his arson spree, Orr had several nicknames "The Pillow Pyro" [2] due to the location of the fires inside shops.,[3] the "Frito Bandito", and the "coin-tosser.". Orr had an insatiable need for recognition and glory. why did john leonard orr start fires 10. The Pillow Pyro Taskforce was set-up and detectives suspected the arsonist was possibly one of their own, because the perpetrator displayed an intimate knowledge of setting fires. After Orr was found to be present at another suspicious fire, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment. [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. Skip to main content Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Are there any more people in your section? he asked Carolyn Krause. Regardless of the motives, once a firefighter intentionally starts a fire, a criminal act has been com-mitted. You should probably leave the cart here, he said, more forcefully. Whatre you doing here? Eisele asked. The fire was initially ruledas an accident. Orr was correct, of course, because he set the blaze. The character also happened to be a firefighter, and the fires he set paralleled with the ones investigators were probing. He staggered to the back wall and duck-walked his way along, feeling the wall and feeling merchandise, feeling anything to guide him. He loved the inadvertent attention he derived from the newspaper coverage and hated it when he wasnt properly recognized'. [3] On the following day, arson investigators from around southern California converged on the destroyed store, and declared the cause to be an electrical fire. Orr returned to Los Angeles, where he applied to two police departments and two fire departments; while waiting to hear back, his wife gave birth to his daughter. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and three counts of arson, though Orr maintained his innocence. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. He was a respected authority and often in the press. [30] His name does not appear in the California Department of Corrections inmate database, suggesting that he is being held under an alias. Ada Deal put some merchandise into the cart behind her grandson, Matthew. 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. 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. 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. July 30, 2018. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. In fact, Orr even penned a novel, Points of Origin, which follows an arson investigator who suspects a serial arsonist may be operating within his own ranks. 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. Even today, many agricultural and forestry techniques require fire (e.g., slash-and-burn agriculture). A&E Television Networks, "Firebug, New Podcast from Marc Smerling's Truth Media, Unravels Story of Serial Arsonist Burning Down Southern California - Sony Music", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Leonard_Orr&oldid=1141481030, Federal: Transferred to CA custody in 2002, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 08:00. 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. John Leonard Orr was, for a time, an arson investigator. While John Orr was in custody, investigators determined that the number of brush fires set in nearby foothill areas decreased by almost 90%. All Rights Reserved. 24-10-2022 48 mins. During the mid-1980s, a series of fires began to plague Los Angeles in Southern California, which caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Seven years and many fires later, police arrested Orr at his home. [20], After his arrest, arson investigators began a forensic re-evaluation of the Ole's fire. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Afterward, investigators took another look at the Oles Home Center hardware store fire, which further investigation had revealed was started by a highly flammable substance. Growing up, he always wanted to join the police department, but failed the entrance exam and instead became a career fire officer and arson investigator. In that band, he played bass and sang high harmonies. Want to keep reading? He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. Orr was found to be the cause of those fires. manchester united annual turnover; what dallas city council district am i in why did john leonard orr start fires. His 240-page paperback book Points of Origin: Playing with Fire was published on August 1, 2002, whilst Orr was behind bars, and has afforded detectives a rare insight into the possible motive behind the crimes, that being the sexual thrill of watching things burn. [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]. Is anyone feeling that the mom has strong narcissistic vibes, I worked on both cases. Deadly Secrets A Fire Inside, airs at 9:00 p.m. on Investigation Discovery. 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. It was hot and he was burning. Yet when he applied to the Los Angeles Police Department, he was passed over for the position. Orr insisted that the manuscript was fiction, and in 1991, he wrote a letter to a literary agency described it as a fact-based work that follows the pattern of an actual arsonist that has been setting serial fires in California over the past eight years, according to AP News. Any donations are appreciated and will contribute towards maintaining the website and ensure we can add new content on a regular basis. Orr was a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. A fuel's composition, including moisture . By the time fire crews arrived at the scene the building was almost completely destroyed and four people had died in the blaze. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said today that he believed officers apprehended the sole arsonist. The dismissal of Chiefs general manager John Dorsey was met, almost universally, with shock. He was also ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution. [3][21] When questioned, Orr stated the novel is a work of fiction and has no relation to any actual events. Doubtlessly, he would rather have been at some other place than Oles Home Center on that October evening, especially during the World Series, but there were seven children in his family who had to look for empty bottles and cans to exchange for deposits if they wanted to buy sports equipment. [4] The store was completely destroyed by the fire, and four people were killed: a two-year-old child, the child's 50-year-old grandmother, a 26-year-old mother of two, and a 17-year-old employee. Pyromania is very rare and incredibly under-researched, so its actual occurrence is hard to determine. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Prior to the Oles fire and the fire at Vons Market, there had been a fire in nearby Pasadena, at Albertsons Market on East Sierra Madre Boulevard, about seven miles from Oles. As fires spread from Bakersfield to Pacific Grove and Los Angeles, it soon became clear that the serial arsonist was not an outsider.