Because I have an unhealthy interest in the investigations that follow upon things that blow up, I have been following the story from Indianapolis about the house that exploded — in an extraordinarily, unusually powerful natural gas explosion — on November 10. (It’s been on Twitter under the hashtag #indyboom since thirty seconds after the explosion, later supplemented by the somewhat less gauche #indyexplosion after it became clear that people had likely died.)
Arson and murder charges were filed a couple of days ago against the homeowner, her live-in boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s brother, who apparently blew up the house in order to split the insurance money.
This lengthy article from the Indianapolis Star details what has to be one of the most boneheaded criminal scheme (in the sense of the criminals’ almost guaranteeing that they’d be caught) ever. It would be laughable, if it weren’t for the fact that two neighbors lost their lives, other neighbors were injured, 31 houses were destroyed or condemned, and about 60 more houses were damaged.
The piece seems to be a pretty good example of in-depth reporting, assuming that the facts as reported are accurate. I hope the affected families will feel one step closer to justice by Christmastime. Spare the young daughter of the homeowner a thought or prayer if you can; she will have a tough Christmas.
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