Latest Arson Headlines
All the headlines from our Arson Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Burned Ala. Churches File Claims as Fires Ruled Arson
Feb 8 2006 // The five rural Alabama Baptist churches either damaged or destroyed in fires last week were able to begin filing insurance claims Feb. 6 after all the fires were formally ruled arsons by the state insurance commissioner,...
Arson suspected in Texas wildfires
Jan 23 2006 // Some 70 fires thought to be work of arsonists Many of the wildfires that plagued Texas during the first half of January 2006 may have been started intentionally, according to the Texas Forest Service. Some 70 wildfires in...
Arson suspected in Texas wildfires
Jan 22 2006 // Many of the wildfires that plagued Texas during the first half of January 2006 may have been started intentionally, according to the Texas Forest Service. Some 70 wildfires in Texas are thought to have been started by...
N.M. Supreme Court Upholds Arson Exclusion in Recent Ruling
Jan 19 2006 // On Jan. 9, 2006, the Supreme Court of New Mexico upheld arson exclusion language by ruling that “vandalism and malicious fraud” includes acts of arson. “The Battishill v. Farmers Alliance ruling...
Teen Suspect Charged with Setting Fires in East Texas
Jan 13 2006 // An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with two arson fires in Bowie County, Texas. Randal Kight was questioned in connection with a series of wildland fires that have plagued the town of Maud, southwest of...
Arson Alleged in Texas Wildfires
Jan 10 2006 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the State Fire Marshal’s office of the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Forest Service to...
New Fires Flare in Texas; Charges Filed in Okla.
Jan 6 2006 // Six new wildfires flared up in Texas on Jan. 5 and fire fighting crews were battling about two dozen smaller fires in Oklahoma, the Dallas Morning News reported. In Texas, houses and other structures were threatened by...
Suspected Arson Fire Contained in Small Northeastern Okla. Town
Jan 5 2006 // Firefighters contained a grass fire that destroyed an abandoned schoolhouse and a home in Shamrock, a small northeastern Oklahoma town, while officials in Texas and New Mexico also worked to keep fires under control amid...
Okla. Senator Proposes Stiffer Penalties for Arson
Dec 9 2005 // Recalling recent wildfires that have been made worse by individuals deliberately setting blazes, Oklahoma State Senator Frank Shurden said he plans to file legislation to increase the penalties for...
Jury Deadlocks on More Serious Charges in Deadly Hotel Fire
Oct 13 2005 // The owner of an aging Hollywood hotel was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy and insurance fraud in connection with a 2001 fire that killed two people, but jurors deadlocked on the more serious counts of murder and...
W.V. Homeowner, Tenant, Indicted for Arson, Fraud
Sep 21 2005 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline announced Wednesday that Deborah K. Wildberger and Michael T. Hovermale were indicted by a Morgan County grand jury Sept. 6 on charges of insurance fraud. Wildberger...
Chicago Exec Convicted in Arson Scheme
Sep 5 2005 // A federal jury ruled last month that former commodities firm executive Marc E. Thompson set his home ablaze and burned his elderly mother alive to collect insurance money that he later hid during bankruptcy proceedings,...
Chicago Exec Convicted in Arson Scheme
Sep 5 2005 // A federal jury ruled last month that former commodities firm executive Marc E. Thompson set his home ablaze and burned his elderly mother alive to collect insurance money that he later hid during bankruptcy proceedings,...
Md. Man Pleads Guilty Following Subdivision Arson
Jun 28 2005 // United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Allen Loucks recently announced that Aaron Lee Speed, 21, of Waldorf, Maryland pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson in connection with the Dec. 6, 2004 fire at the...
N.Y. Soldier Charged with Killing Officers Previously Accused in Fire
Jun 19 2005 // The New York soldier accused of killing two superior officers and making it look like an enemy attack was accused by an insurer of masking the cause of a fire that destroyed his home. The allegation is included in court...
4 St. Louis-Area Men Convicted in $3.5 Million Arson Scheme
May 23 2005 // Four St. Louis-area men were convicted Wednesday of federal charges related to the torching of four grocery stores as part of a scheme to collect more than $3.5 million in insurance claims. After a 13-day trial, a U.S....
4 St. Louis-Area Men Convicted in $3.5 Million Arson Scheme
May 23 2005 // Four St. Louis-area men were convicted Wednesday of federal charges related to the torching of four grocery stores as part of a scheme to collect more than $3.5 million in insurance claims. After a 13-day trial, a U.S....
ARSON SUSPECT ARRESTED:
May 9 2005 // Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms arrested a District of Columbia man who they suspect may be responsible for more than 40 fires in the Washington region. Authorities made the arrest in Prince...
LA. MAN ADMITS ARSON CONSPIRACY
Apr 4 2005 // A Gretna, La., man has admitted plotting to have his hunting camp in Mississippi burned for insurance money, and agreed to testify against two men accused of torching the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse to destroy evidence,...
Arson Rate Reported at Historic Low
Mar 2 2005 // In 2003, the rate of arson offenses relative to population decreased by 6 percent from the previous year, according to the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The number of intentionally set structure...
