South side explosion (Indianapolis, Washington: short sale, insurance, mortgage)

[missik999]

Breaking news, now this is a homicide investigation.

[dewthedru]

wow. i wonder if the focus is on the homeowners. seems our assumption that it was someone trying to get out from under a debt might be correct. so sad.

[missik999]

I thought it seemed strange that the ex-husband began telling the media that his daughter had mentioned furnace problems, and that their furnace might have caused the explosion. It seemed impossible that a faulty furnace had caused such devastation.

Two bankruptcies and a home that was for sale for over a year, recently taken off the market.

Also it seemed strange that the homeowners went out of town for the night and they boarded their cat. I know many people who have cats and they don't board them for one night.

Hey, I hope I am wrong because I would hate to think this was caused because someone couldn't sell their house.

[gabaghoul]

http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...nclick_check=1

Now they're saying maybe someone let the gas leak and detonated it with remote control. Although it could be true, but it sounds like a B movie script from the 80s (the Indianapolis Connection). Remember those 2003 California fires set by an arsonist, he was given a death sentence. I wonder if they'll do the same in Indiana.

[mobyhead]

One of my co-workers lived in the house directly behind the one that exploded. Her and her husband were in their upstairs bedroom at the front of the house. They were hit be some flying debris and had some bumps and bruises. They made it out safely. She said the hardest part was they could hear their other neighbor that died crying out for help but he was beneath too much rubble to get to him. They moved into an apartment last week. Signed a 3 month lease. She says that the insurance company is not requiring them to build on that lot after their home gets demolished.

[Michelle Morris]

A lot of people felt from the very beginning that this seemed very suspicious. (Boarding a cat? Come on.) The whole thing is so sad.

The latest update I can find online is from 5 days ago, announcing that Warrants have been issued and says that remote detonation is the leading theory. Arson investigators have concluded that the explosion was not an accident. Warrants Issued In Indianapolis Home Explosion

[ischyros]

I feel it probably wasn't supposed to do anything than destroy the house that was the center of the explosion. Unfortunately for them, it ended up being a lot worse than that. I know Indiana law says any arson that leads to death can be changed to a murder charge.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by mobyhead

One of my co-workers lived in the house directly behind the one that exploded. Her and her husband were in their upstairs bedroom at the front of the house. They were hit be some flying debris and had some bumps and bruises. They made it out safely. She said the hardest part was they could hear their other neighbor that died crying out for help but he was beneath too much rubble to get to him. They moved into an apartment last week. Signed a 3 month lease. She says that the insurance company is not requiring them to build on that lot after their home gets demolished.

Wow ... What a horrible experience for your friends ... So sad!!!

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by mobyhead

One of my co-workers lived in the house directly behind the one that exploded. Her and her husband were in their upstairs bedroom at the front of the house. They were hit be some flying debris and had some bumps and bruises. They made it out safely. She said the hardest part was they could hear their other neighbor that died crying out for help but he was beneath too much rubble to get to him. They moved into an apartment last week. Signed a 3 month lease. She says that the insurance company is not requiring them to build on that lot after their home gets demolished.

This is what I was most afraid of. I grew up with Jennifer, the school teacher/wife also killed in the explosion. I went to school with her from second grade all through high school. We were in sporadic contact over facebook recently and it was pretty unreal to see her car basically unscathed in the driveway and the back of her husband's car clearly visible (with its yellow paint job intact) sitting in the garage. I was hoping it was so quick they didn't even know what hit them, but as big as the explosion was, it was pretty obvious that there wasn't a singularly massive fireball that ended everything as soon as it started. Their lawn, cars, and trees would have been just as devastated.

It was completely surreal to see the "are you okays" on FB turn into news her father-in-law was en route to the church triage to "they're gone" by the following morning. I wasn't really close to Jennifer, but with how this happened, in so many ways this one hurts a lot more than the closer friends I've lost over the years to things like cancer or adolescent stupidity. Really good people just gone because they happened to pick a house with the wrong neighbors it would seem. Emotionally, I hope that the arson angle is proved wrong and there is evidence that they went quickly. That might make this a bit easier for everyone close to them. Rationally, I just don't think that's the case.

[missik999]

Indystar is reporting 15 search warrants served.