Answers to questions

The first question.

"Why did he do it?"

The answer is, no one will ever know.

He was taken from his home when he was 3 because his father was physically and sexually abusing him, including burning him with a lighter.  He still has scars on his arms.  He was the 2nd oldest of 4 children.  He was placed in foster care where he was physically and sexually abused some more.  He and his little sister were adopted.  However, the one of the adoptive parents developed cancer and the strain was too much to provide the care and supervison he required.  He was returned to state custody.

During his 17 years in foster care he lived in 13 different placements, some merely transitional.  There was a history of fire setting.  The parents at his last group home really cared about him and tried to help however they could.  He graduated from High School in May or June of 2005.  He was able to stay at the group home until September when they had to make room for new childen.  That foster father helped him find his apartment.  He worked 2 fast food jobs to support himself. 

A girl from his church said he told a group of kids he was going to burn down his apartment building when he left the group home an got is own apartment and that he didn’t care about the people who might live there.  No one else substantiated her story. 

He made two confessions.  One had the location of the origin of the fire that only the arsonist could know and elements of untruth.  The second had a more probable method of setting the fire, but more untruths.

He had a co-worker who lived in the building he set ablaze, but he wasn’t home at the time.  He said he wasn’t angry at him and that he was a friend.

A witness saw him around midnight at the location of the fire origin.  Because she didn’t speak English, there was confusion with her testimony.

He got on the stand and said that he lied about setting the fire in his confessions.  He also said he had never set any fires.  The state records showed more than one documented instance of fire setting.

I have tried to state just the facts as they were presented in the trial.  As you can seen the jury had a big job ahead of them.

The second question.

Why didn’t Yolanda, Jose and Nicole get out when everyone else did?

First, the reason why so many got out.  There were four Haskell students playing video games in an apartment across the street.  One student was facing the door that has 2 frosted window panes running the length of the door on each side.  He saw an orange glow at the bottom and they went out on the balcony to see what it was.  There was fire infront of two apartments on the second floor of the 3rd building from the north.  Without speaking they took off running.  Two went to the north end and started banging on doors.  One jumped over the railing onto the 1st floor and ran the length of all six building banging on doors.  The last one stopped in the street and called 911.  It was 1:18 am October 7, 2005.  He then ran to the southend of the buildings and started banging on doors on the 2nd floor.  When the fire was too close he tried to get to the 3rd floor but the fire had already spread to the end of the south most building.  He went to the street to find his friends and started video taping with his phone.  It was 1:28 am October 7, 2005.  The fire had spread to all six buildings.

The only way out of an apartment was across the boardwalk and down the stairs.  The boardwalk was completely engulfed in flame.  One young woman threw a blanket over her and ran through the flames.  She had 3rd degree burns to her hands and feet that will take at least five years to heal after many skin grafts.  She had 2nd degree burns to her face.  Others were breaking their bedroom windows to escaped from the back side of the apartment onto the parking lot.  The first floor window were at ground level and the second floor wasn’t too bad of a jump.  The third floor windows were twenty feet off the ground.  Many or those were critically injured, broken back, broken heels, pelvis, arms, etc.  Eight people were critically injured.

Yolanda was found on the floor by her bed.  Her apartment was on the third floor of the northmost building, two buildings north of the fire origin.  The coroner determined her death to be asphyxiation, at 90 some percent.  There was a bump on her head.  Much was made by the defense about the pizza and beer party at her apartment that evening.  She took some cold medicine before bed also.  Her blood alcohol level was slightly over the legal limit to drive.  I’m not sure what the legal limit is to sleep in your own bed.

Jose was found at his front door,  His apartment was on the first floor of the building just south of the fire origin.  The coroner said his death was asphyxiation and thermal buns.  His level was less that 50%, I think either high 30s or low 40s.  Because he was a smoker, there was credibility leant to his death being asphyxiation.  His blood alcohol level was I believe .8%, just barely meeting the legal limit prohibiting driving.  Again, I’m not sure what the legal limit is to sleep in your own bed.  It only takes two beers to reach .8%.

As you can see, there was very little time to make a decision and get out safely.  The fire was an inferno, unlike anything you’ve ever seen on TV.  These three lived alone.  I’m not sure how many of the others lived alone.

A witness from across the street saw Nicole leave her apartment and make her way to the stairs.  Her apartment was on the third floor of the building just north of the fire origin.  At the stairs she dropped to her knees, then her elbows and never got up.  She was engulfed in flame.  The coroner said her death was due to thermal burns.  They were unable to test her lungs for asphyxiation.   Her body was pretty much consumed in the flames.  There was very little left to autopsy.  I choose to believe that her heart stopped because of the heat and she died instantly.  Her blood alcohol level was zero.

There is a song by Melissa Etheridge that her friend Kenzie chose for a video put together by her friend Ryan.  I believe the selection was inspired.  "All of my stength.  All my desire.  Still cannot melt this breath of fire.  I go to meet some kind of test.  Bury the truth that scars my chest."  "I gathered all my courage.  I shaved off all my fear…." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=BO3FCVxKMBo

You can have all these facts, and still not be able to answer why he started the fire, why the buildings burned so quickly or why these three didn’t escape.