Crime To Burn

Join us for the highly anticipated conclusion to the case of the Steamboat Sultana. This week we return to the Mississippi River for the investigations that followed the explosion, fire, and sinking of the Steamboat Sultana that was carrying over 2,000 Union POWs following the Civil War. Was this negligence? Was it a terrible accident? Or was it sabotage and intentional murder? We'll give you the evidence for you to decide. 
Visit the Sultana Museum and consider contributing to their current brick drive here: https://www.sultanadisastermuseum.com/
 
Book Sources:
Sultana, A Case for Sabotage by D. H. Rule
The Sultana Tragedy by Jerry O. Potter
Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors compiled by Rev. Chester D. Berry. 
Documentary Sources:
History Detectives Special Investigations: Civil War Sabotage (PBS)
In Search of History - Sultana: Mississippi's Titanic (The History Channel)
 
 

Join us as we step back in history to the close of the US Civil War when one of the largest maritime disasters in US history claimed the lives of 1,800 people on the Mississippi River. The tragic explosion and subsequent fire on the Steamboat Sultana was so greatly overshadowed by other events at the time, that less than 2% of Americans surveyed knew about the disaster. However, this story includes criminal negligence, bribery, and corruption that leads all the way to the front door of the White House. In addition, there are even allegations of sabotage. How did such a massive tragedy become just a footnote in American History? We'll explain. 
 
Book Sources:
Sultana, A Case for Sabotage by D. H. Rule
The Sultana Tragedy by Jerry O. Potter
Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors compiled by Rev. Chester D. Berry. 
Documentary Sources:
History Detectives Special Investigations: Civil War Sabotage (PBS)
In Search of History - Sultana: Mississippi's Titanic (The History Channel)
 
 

We're finally back with the incredibly tardy conclusion to the John Orr case (aka: the Frito Bandito or the Pillowcase Pyro). If you haven't listened to parts 1 and 2, go do that before you listen to this part. But we owe you a huge apology. April's husband spent the summer without the use of one of his legs and as the only adult in the house with two working legs while undergoing a home renovation project and working a full time job, April had to put the pod on hold for a couple months. But we are back! Thanks for being so patient with us, we can't wait to get back into the swing of things!

This week we continue our series on the prolific arsonist once known as the Frito Bandito or the Pillowcase Pyro that terrorized California in the late 1980s. This week's episode brings you a plot twist as the investigators struggle to bring this horrific arsonist to justice. 
Sources will be released with the last episode of the series. 
Want to support the podcast? You can buy us a coffee at:
https://ko-fi.com/crimetoburn 

What started as a normal day in October of 1984 quickly turned to horror as a serial arsonist claimed 4 lives in a fire he set at an Ole's Hardware store in California. In Part 1, we'll cover his most deadly fire and how he achieved such nicknames as "The Pillow Pyro" and "The Frito Bandito." Will he be caught? Will all his crimes catch up to him? Listen to find out. Welcome to Crime to Burn created and hosted by Jenny and April.
Sources will be posted with part 2 so as not to reveal any spoilers. 
 

In part 2 of this series dedicated to the memory of Reno Firefighter Mike Lackore, we get into the investigation and criminal trial following the Mizpah Hotel Fire in Reno, NV. Mike was on one of the first responding units to the Mizpah Hotel fire that occurred on Halloween night in 2006 in Reno, NV. This multi-fatality fire had a profound mental impact on the firefighters that reported to the scene and Mike Lackore’s good friend Battalion Chief Roger Mooney shared with me that he and Mike were forever changed by the horrific events of that night. Mike passed away in 2011 but this fire always stayed with him and so we dedicate this episode to Mike Lackore’s memory. Join us now as we dive into the Mizpah Hotel Fire including the first hand perspective of Chief Roger Mooney. This is Crime to Burn. 
https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2006/nov/01/reno-arson-suspect-served-prison-time-for-murder/
 
https://ijret.org/volumes/2014v03/i23/IJRET20140323014.pdf
 
https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/reno-hotel-fire-suspect-to-stand-trial-on-12-counts-murder-arson/
 
http://www.iklimnet.com/hotelfires/hotel_fire_news_29.html
 
https://www.foxnews.com/story/woman-accused-of-setting-reno-hotel-fire-that-killed-6-served-time-in-prison-for-murder
 
https://www.essaytown.com/subjects/paper/mizpah-hotel-fire-reno-nevada/617038
 
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16711174
 
https://www.deseret.com/2006/11/2/19982906/suspect-in-reno-hotel-fire-once-convicted-of-murder
 
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2007/03/17/woman-to-serve-12-life-terms-for-setting-reno-fire/
 
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_67/kirstin_lobato_attacked_jd67.pdf
 
https://apnews.com/article/0c51752acbb1fa24e0f928ba6f2a2819
 
https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/2006-oct-31-arson-fire-mizpah-hotel-on-north-lake-street-reno-nv-12/
 
 
 

This week’s episode is dedicated to the memory of Reno Firefighter Mike Lackore. Mike was on one of the first responding units to the Mizpah Hotel fire that occurred on Halloween night in 2006 in Reno, NV. This multi-fatality fire had a profound mental impact on the firefighters that reported to the scene and Mike Lackore’s good friend Battalion Chief Roger Mooney shared with me that he and Mike were forever changed by the horrific events of that night. Mike passed away in 2011 but this fire always stayed with him and so we dedicate this episode to Mike Lackore’s memory. Join us now as we dive into the Mizpah Hotel Fire including the first hand perspective of Chief Roger Mooney. This is Crime to Burn. 
Sources will be provided with Part 2 of this episode. 

In our continuation of the investigation of the horrific fire that took the lives of three toddlers in Corsicana, TX, we really pick apart the investigation and the conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham. So, was an innocent man sentenced to death for a tragic accident or was it arson? Join us as we dig deeper into this case. 
Sources:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-firehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Hurst
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2014/08/03/did-texas-execute-an-innocent-man-willingham
 
https://innocenceproject.org/the-texas-forensic-science-commission-and-the-willingham-case/
https://innocenceproject.org/cameron-todd-willingham-wrongfully-convicted-and-executed-in-texas/
 

In this first of a two-part episode, we explore the horrific fire that took the lives of three toddlers in Corsicana, TX only 3 days before Christmas in 1991.  A distraught and injured father told a neighbor to call 911 because his babies were inside his burning home. Was this a tragic accident or was it something more sinister? Join us as we pick apart the investigation and remember the three precious victims. 
 
Stay tuned for Part 2 
Sources will be provided after part 2 is available. 

On February 16, 1987, Warren Burns, a seasoned firefighter, was a newly appointed fire investigator on duty in Everett, Washington when a fire was reported at Everett Community College, where Burns himself had studied Fire Science. On his way to the scene, he heard the unthinkable over the radio, a firefighter had been separated from his team and was trapped inside the burning Library. The firefighter was Gary Parks, a close personal friend of Burns’. Gary Parks died that night in the line of duty and when the fire was declared arson, Burns’ vowed to never give up on holding the arsonist accountable for the death of his friend. Immediately, there were three main suspects that held the focus of investigators. But Burns along with the Parks family would endure more than three decades of waiting before the arsonist was sentenced in Gary Parks’ murder. This  to Crime to Burn. 
Crime to Burn is a true crime podcast focused on that intersection where true crime meets arson and criminal negligence. April is a licensed Fire Protection Engineer with 20 years of industry experience and a former firefighter. Jenny is a true crime buff and spent months talking April into taking on this project. Plus, Jenny keeps April from going too deep into the weeds on the science. No boring college science lectures here, it's all true crime, fire, and expert opinions. 
Special thanks to Warren Burns, Mike McGill, and Dave Statter
Show sources:
The majority of this Episode is from an interview with former Fire Investigator, Warren Burns. 
Other sources:
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/02/16/Library-fire-kills-firefighter-hurts-3-others/7739540450000/
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT03m_Icht0
 
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/solved-arsonist-behind-1987-firefighters-death-was-only-12/
 
https://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/lodd-history-25-years-later-firefighters-death-in-arson-weighs-on-family-comrades/
 
https://www.firehouse.com/safety-health/video/21216027/man-admits-to-starting-1987-fire-that-killed-wa-firefighter
 
https://myeverettnews.com/2021/05/13/judge-sentences-elmer-nash-jr-to-ten-years-in-death-of-everett-firefighter-gary-parks/
 
https://coffeeordie.com/everett-fire-1987/