Episode 22: The David Michael Crawford Serial Arson Case Part 1

See below for timestamps!

In today's episode we kick off the case of David Michael Crawford, a retired Maryland Police Chief turned serial arsonist. We will be starting with the first arson in a series he was linked to in court with a fire at the home of a fellow city employee. We're bringing you a deep dive into a case I've been researching for over 6 months and currently this case is pending appeal in Maryland. Join us as we dive into one twisted and shocking serial arson case on Crime to Burn. 

We begin this case with many disclaimers and explanations about evidence, sources, and testimony in this case and they are important. I have provided time stamps below in case you wish to fast forward to the case but the disclaimers will provide you with additional insight into the judicial process and criminal court cases. 

Timestamps:

Disclaimers begin at 2:49

2:49 - 4:08 - A discussion about crimes the defendant has been convicted of and the difference between accused and convicted. 

4:08 - 5:06 - An explanation of some evidence presented in court related to fires other than the ones for which he was standing trial. 

5:06 - 6:44 - A discussion of the defendant's wife and explanation that she is not accused of being involved nor of having knowledge of her husband's crimes. 

6:44 - 8:25 - Discussion of crimes unrelated to the arsons presented in court which members of the defendant's immediate family indicated in press reports they suspect Crawford's involvement. 

8:25 - 10:27 - Explanation of court recordings and bench conversations and differentiating between what can be gleaned from the court recordings verses what was known to the jury. Also includes a discussion of hearsay, probative value of evidence and testimony, and prejudicial testimony. 

10:27 - 11:45 - Discussion of state's burden in criminal cases and constitutional rights of defendants to not testify.

11:45 - 13:17: Discussion of off the record sources used for this podcast and a reminder that all witnesses are off-limits until the conclusion of the appeal.

13:17 - 15:34 - My own personal implicit bias due to my involvement in some of the organizations involved in this case. 

15:34 - 17:05 - Discussion of what court records were obtained and what records were not used and why. 

17:05 - 18:12 - Discussion about defense attorney. UPDATE AFTER RECORDING: Mr. Bonsib did reply to my email and provided the appellate brief but has indicated that given the pending appeal, he does not feel it would be appropriate to discuss the case with me. I understand and respect his decision. 

18:12 - 20:27 - Discussion about narrative storytelling and using emotions to drive the narrative and a reminder that these perspectives used for storytelling are not intended to imply guilt or innocence of the defendant. Also discussion about authentically presenting the emotions and implications of others and not my own. 

20:27 END OF DISCLAIMERS. 

Background Music is by Not Notoriously Coordinated. 

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Sources used:

Application for Statement of Charges against David Michael Crawford of Ellicott City, MD to the District Court of Maryland filed 3/2/2021; D-101-CR-21-000235. https://www.scribd.com/document/497270007/Charging-Docs-David-Michael-Crawford

Court Recordings from Circuit Court for Howard County - Criminal Case C-13-CR-21-000152. State of Maryland vs. David Michael Crawford. Dates of 2/27/2023 through 3/9/2023. 

In the Appellate Court of Maryland, David Michael Crawford (Appellant) v. State of Maryland (Appellee). Appeal from the Circuit Court for Howard County Opening Brief and Appendix of the Appellant. 

Personal communications with persons familiar with David Michael Crawford. (off-the-record interviews)

Mann, Alex. "Former Laurel police chief craved authroity, set fires for revenge, Howard prosecutors say." Baltimore Sun, Mar 1, 2023. 

Mann, Alex. "Ex-Laurel police chief contacted victims after series of arson fires. He's accused of keeping enemies list, starting blazes." Baltimore Sun. (no date provided in copy used)

Mann, Alex. "'Arson Destroys Persons': Former Laurel Police Chief sentenced to life for Howard County fires." Baltimore Sun. June 27, 2023

Faguy, Ana et. al. "Retired Maryland police chief used arson for vendettas, prosecutors say; a stirring dog may have saved one family." Baltimore Sun, Mar 4, 2021. 

Henderson, Evelyn Palattella. "My neighbor and former Police Chief burned down my house twice." Medium. Mar 9, 2021.

Morse, Dan. "Serial arsonist tracked through dog hair, surveilance video and grudges, officials allege." The Washington Post March 4, 2021. 

"Testimony from arson victims, including suspects own family, suggest fires set out of revenge." https://www.wbaltv.com/article/david-crawford-arson-trial-fire-victims-testimony/43162693. Accessed Mar 15, 2024.

Chappell, Bill. "A former Police Chief in MD. Was A 'Serial Arsonist,' Authorities Say." https://www.npr.org/2021/03/04/973696073/a-former-police-chief-in-md-was-a-serial-arsonist-authorities-say. NPR. Mar 4, 2021. Accessed Mar 15, 2021.

Fenton, Justin. "Ex-police chief's daughter details terrorizing act in court filing." The Washington Post. May 9 2021. 

Murchison, Joe. "Arsonist's twisted trail." Streetcar Suburbs News. https://streetcarsuburbs.news/arsonists-twisted-trail/ Accessed Mar 15, 2024.

Former Laurel police chief gets life sentences in arson case. WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyJM2ndLt4U

Former Maryland Police Chief Sentenced to Life In Prison in Arson Cases. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/former-maryland-police-chief-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-arson-cases-185384517841

"Former Maryland police chief accused fo setting 12 "revenge fires" sentenced to multiple life terms. CBS News. Jun 28, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-crawford-revenge-fires-ex-maryland-police-chief-sentenced-multiple-life-terms/

David Crawford LinkedIn Page, Ellicott City, Maryland, United States. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-crawford-47537813b

Morse, Dan. "Former Maryland police chief gets life prison terms for arson spree." The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/27/david-crawford-arson-life-sentences/

Palmer, Emily. "Ex Maryland Police Chief Set 12 'Revenge fires,' Gets Multiple Life Sentences. People Magazine. Updated Jun 28, 2023. https://people.com/ex-maryland-police-chief-revenge-fires-multiple-life-sentences-7554649

Carballo, Rebecca. "Ex-Police Chief in Maryland Gets Multiple Life Terms in Series of Arsons." The New York times. Jun 27, 2023.

Gilstrap, Samantha. "Former police Chief handed 8 life sentences for series of arsons across Maryland." WUSA9. Updated Jun 27, 2023. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/former-laurel-police-chief-handed-8-life-sentences-for-series-of-arsons-across-maryland/65-f242e76b-c648-4077-91b3-b983a008fcaf

Neammanee, Pocharapon. "Former Police Chief Who Set Series of Fires as Revenge Sentenced to Life in Prison." Huffpost. Jun 28, 2023. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-chief-arson-revenge-life-sentence_n_649c6017e4b0cd6f7df15fc7

Lambe, Jerry. "Evil and terrifying: Ex-police chief gets 8 life sentences for setting series of fires targeting rivals and people he believed slighted him." Law & Crime. Jun 28, 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/crime/evil-and-terrifying-ex-police-chief-gets-8-life-sentences-for-setting-series-of-fires-targeting-rivals-and-people-he-believed-slighted-him/

Duffy, Ken. "Former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford gets life sentences in arson cases." WBAL News Radio. Jun 27, 2023. https://www.wbal.com/former-laurel-police-chief-david-crawford-gets-life-sentences-in-arson-cases/

Massie, Graeme. "Ex-Maryland police chief senntenced to life for string of revenge arson attacks." The Independent. Los Angeles. Jun 28, 2023. https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/maryland-police-chief-arson-sentencing-b2365958.html

Skene, Lea. "Ex-police chief convicted in 4 arsons targeting his enemies." AP News. 9 Mar 2023. https://apnews.com/article/maryland-police-chief-convicted-arson-31f2c9e5c38891415c18ffc901361e86

VerHeist, Megan. "Ex-MD Police Chief Accused of Arson Kept 'Target list': Reports. Mar 2, 2023. https://patch.com/maryland/ellicottcity/ex-md-police-chief-accused-arson-kept-target-list-reports

Reed, Lillian. "Former Laurel police chief gets two life sentences plus 75 years for setting fires." The Baltimore Banner, Jun 27, 2023.

Osborne, Mark. "Former police chief facing dozens of attempted murder charges in alleged arsons." 6ABC Philadelphia. Mar 4, 2021.

News Release - Office of the State's Attorney for Howard County. Ellicott City Resident David Crawford Sentenced to Mu;tiple Life Sentences Plus 75 Years in Serial Arson Case. https://howardcountysao.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/David-Crawford-Sentencing-6.27.23.pdf

Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department. "Serial Arsonist Arrested in Multi-Jurisdictional Investigation." Mar 3, 2021. https://pgfdpio.blogspot.com/2021/03/serial-arsonist-arrested-in-multi.html

Leonard, Kevin. "Crawford's Reign of Terror." Voices of Laurel., https://www.voicesoflaurel.com/post/crawford-s-reign-of-terror

Riess, Rebekah et. al. "Former police chief is facing charges over fires authorities say were linked to people he had disagreements with." CNN US. Mar 4, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/04/us/maryland-former-chief-attempted-murder-arson-charges/index.html

"Daughter of Laurel Police Chief Turned Alleged Arsonist David Crawford Speaks Out." WJZ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Kvo7Ac57s

Swalec, Andrea. "Ex-Police Chief Suspected in Maryland "Revenge" Arsons Kept List of Targets: Officials." NBC 4 Washington. Mar 4, 2021. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/ex-police-chief-suspected-in-maryland-revenge-arsons-kept-list-of-targets-officials/2595652/

Bonessi, Dominique Maria. "Former Md. Police Chief Arrested in Connection to a Dozen Arson Attacks." DCist. Mar 3, 2021. https://dcist.com/story/21/03/03/laurel-maryland-police-chief-david-crawford-arson-fires/

Stabley, Matthew, et. al. "Former Police Chief Accused of Maryland Arsons Over Decade." NBC 4 Washington. Mar 3, 2021. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/former-police-chief-charged-in-series-of-arsons-in-maryland-since-2011/2594009/

TooFab Staff. "Police Finally Catch Serial Arson Suspect After Decade of Fire Attacks - And It's Their Former Chief." TooFab. Mar 5, 2021. https://toofab.com/2021/03/05/police-finally-catch-serial-arson-suspect-after-decade-of-fire-attacks-and-its-their-former-chief/

Baumgart, Jacob. "Stepson's House Fires Tied To Former Laurel Police Chief: Report." Bowie Patch. May 13, 2021. https://patch.com/maryland/bowie/stepsons-house-fires-tied-former-laurel-police-chief-report

I have been researching this case for over 6 months and have made a good faith effort to include all relevant sources. I will update this list as required during the course of this series. If I discover I have omitted a source from this list, I will correct it as soon as I recognize the omission. It's completely possible that I've stashed some papers in some bag or corner I missed while compiling my sources for this reference list. Please reach out to me at crimetoburn@gmail.com if you have concerns.