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Accident or Arson?

Accident or Arson?. By Tyler Pfohl & Jeffry Breitbach. Overview. Mansion fire in a suburban neighborhood Police were called at 8:00 PM on a Tuesday evening Appears that there was forced entry (window punched in) Appears that the fire started in the living room

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Accident or Arson?

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  1. Accident or Arson? By Tyler Pfohl & Jeffry Breitbach

  2. Overview • Mansion fire in a suburban neighborhood • Police were called at 8:00 PM on a Tuesday evening • Appears that there was forced entry (window punched in) • Appears that the fire started in the living room • Possible suspects are Mr. Rusch and Mr. Thompkins

  3. Suspect 1: Mr. Rusch • Owner of the mansion • Stock market investor • Due to bad investments owed the bank nearly one million dollars (wife didn’t know about it) • Carried a home insurance policy that covers loss due to accidental fire of $2,250,000 • At the time of the fire, he claimed to be working alone in his office although nobody could vouch for this • Claims that the cuts on his left hand were from falling off of his bike

  4. Suspect 2: Mr. Thompkins • Prosecuted in a drug bust 10 years ago by Mr. Rusch’s wife • Accused of sending threatening letters to Mrs. Rusch shortly after parole • Claims the cuts on his right hand were from removing a rose bush in his yard

  5. EVIDENCE Broken Window Pane Glass Matches and Piece of Paper Bloody Rag with Type O Blood White Powdery Substance Shoe Print Soil Threatening Letter

  6. Broken Window Pane Glass

  7. Broken Window Pane Glass • Experiments • Density of glass • Refractive indexes of glass • Compared to samples of glass taken from each of the suspects’ boots

  8. Matches and Piece of Paper

  9. Matches and Piece of Paper • Experiments • Iodine fuming • Compared matches in incendiary device to match book found in Mr. Rusch’s possession

  10. Bloody Rag with Type O Blood

  11. Bloody Rag with Type O Blood • Experiments • ABO/Rh blood typing • Compared to the blood samples taken from each suspect

  12. White Powdery Substance

  13. White Powdery Substance • Experiments • General appearance • Reaction with water, HCl, and Ferric Nitrate • Universal Indicator • Appearance under UV light • Compared to pills found in Mr. Thompkins’ possession and to other substances

  14. Shoe Print Soil

  15. Shoe Print Soil • Experiments • General appearance • Acidity of soil • Particle size testing • Chemical reactions of soil • Compared to the soil samples taken from each of the suspects’ boots

  16. Threatening Letter

  17. Threatening Letter • Experiments • Ninhydrin test • Carbon black powder dusting • Handwriting analysis • Compared to Mr. Thompkins’ handwriting sample

  18. Conclusion • Mr. Thompkins doesn’t have enough evidence against him to make him a prime suspect • Mr. Rusch has some evidence but not enough to convict him • More evidence is necessary to convict a suspect if it was arson • Possibility that it was an accident

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