MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930
mebrady@co.pg.md.us @PGFDPIO
An
early morning off-campus house fire on Saturday, April 30, 2005 claimed the life
of one of the occupants. Just steps away
from the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park a well-advanced fire consumed the 2-story rental house.
A
party the night before left many possible causes of the fire for the talented
and experienced Prince George’s County Fire Investigators that conducted a very
through investigation ruling out one possible cause after another. However, one key piece of evidence could not be explained, the presence of gasoline
in the area of origin; the front porch.
This incident would prove to be one of the most challenging and
perplexing Arson/Homicide investigations in the history of the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department in identifying a suspect.
After
hours of interviews of witnesses and review of forensics the cause of the fire
was determined to be Arson. Fire
Investigators and County Police Homicide worked jointly to find out who was
responsible.
For
more details about the promising college senior that perished in the fire and
how a suspect was identified read the Cindy Rich story in a 2008 WashingtonianMagazine story.
Now,
a cable TV show documents the case 11 years after its occurrence. The show titled “Burning Down the House” will
premiere on Investigation Discovery channel on Wednesday, May 11 at 9:00 pm. The scheduled date and time are subject to change.
Investigation
Discovery describes the show as; “With college
graduation on the horizon, an exceptional group of students face a terrifying
turn of events. Graduation and celebration is replaced with death as these
college friends try to make sense of an unexpected and brutal murder.”
Investigation Discovery can be found in
Prince George’s County on Comcast/Xfinity Channel 111 and Verizon FIOS on
623. This show is slated for 60 minutes
and has a rating of 14 (LV).
Additional background on this incident can be found in this 2007 Washington Post article.
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