A fire expert challenged a state fire marshal’s opinion on Thursday that the cause of a fatal 2019 fire allegedly set by a 9-year-old boy was “possibly incendiary.”
Terry Brown, a fire investigator and president of FireTech Inc., testified at a Woodford County court hearing for the boy, who is now 13, and facing murder and arson charges related to an April 2019 fire that killed five people. The boy, who was found unfit to stand trial in 2020, did not attend the hearing.
Killed in the blaze were Jason Wall, 34, Kathryn Murray, 69, and three children — Dameon Wall, 2, Ariel Wall, 1 and Rose Alwood, 2. The boy and his mother Katie Alwood survived the fire.
Brown was critical of the investigation and conclusions of state fire marshal Mike Poel, saying several investigative procedures used in fire investigations were not used by Poel. The state fire marshal initially ruled the cause of the fire in a mobile home park as “undetermined,” but later changed his opinion to “possibly incendiary,” said Brown.
The change in the cause of the fire could not be made “unless there were additional facts or data that were developed,” said Brown, who was called as a witness by Peter Dluski, the lawyer for the minor. Brown said he was unaware of new information.
An analysis by the Illinois State Police crime lab on five pieces of debris, and the shirt the child was wearing the night of the fire, showed four negative and one inconclusive result for incendiary residue. Brown said he considers an inconclusive result the same as a negative finding.
Brown acknowledged he was unable to examine the mobile home or fire scene because the home had been removed. He relied heavily on 218 photos -- most of them taken of the victims—and reports from state and local investigators.
The fire expert said he believed the fire started in the living room, based on the severe damage to that area of the home.
In his cross-examination, Woodford County State’s Attorney Greg Minger asked Brown about possible sources of the fire. Asked if he would be surprised to learn that someone had deliberately set the fire, Brown said, “it would not shock me.” Such a conclusion would not be inconsistent with the physical evidence, he acknowledged.
Brown’s response to questions about his fees drew a sharp rebuke from Judge Charles Feeney. Brown said his company charges $150 per hour to investigate a fire scene and $250 to testify in court. He estimated about 20 hours, billed at the $250 rate, for the Woodford County case.
The judge took exception to the higher rate billed for all of the hours, noting the work was performed in an office and did not involve sifting through a fire scene.
“I think it’s ridiculous that someone chooses to fleece the government,” said Feeney, “speaking personally and as an officer of the court.”
The witness did not respond to the criticism.
Feeney also let attorneys for the state and the child know that he is frustrated with delays in resolving the case. The hearing was continued to March 16 after Dluski disclosed that two deputies were unavailable and the child’s mother did not come to court for Thursday’s hearing.
“This has been drawn out to a degree that is reaching absurdity,” said Feeney.
During a series of hearings over what will soon be four years, Feeney has heard evidence of the child’s family life and history. Minger presented testimony from two family members who put the child in the vicinity of three other fires before April 2019. The boy also is a suspect in a fire set in September 2021 while he lived with a relative of his father.
Video of a 45-minute police interview recorded with the child after the mobile home fire was displayed last year during a court hearing. The child denied setting the fire, but admitted to playing with fire previously when he set fire to a frisbee in his father’s garage.
The fire that engulfed the mobile home moved “like a trail on the carpet” leading to the living room, the boy told police. He recalled hearing “the furnace start and then I heard it go boom.”
Brown testified that he found no evidence that the furnace exploded, but he could not rule out another source, such as an aerosol can, as the source of the explosion.
If the court finds the state has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, the child could be placed on probation for at least five years, but not beyond the age of 21. Counseling and therapy would likely be part of the disposition.
