Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 7, Episode 36 - Fire Proof - full transcript

A mysterious arsonist sets dozens of fires in Seattle in the early 1990s.

Narrator: IN 1992, THERE WERE
MORE THAN 75 SUSPICIOUS FIRES

SET IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,
DURING A 6-MONTH PERIOD OF TIME.

ALL APPEARED DELIBERATELY SET.

IT WAS THE BIGGEST ARSON CASE IN
AMERICAN HISTORY

SOLVED WITH BEHAVIORAL
PROFILING, HYPNOSIS,

AND A PIECE OF ART.

[ SIREN WAILING ]

ON THE NIGHT OF AUGUST 9,
1992,

FIREFIGHTERS OUTSIDE SEATTLE,
WASHINGTON, FACED A DISASTER.

THREE CHURCHES WERE ENGULFED IN
FLAMES AT THE SAME TIME

JUST A FEW MILES FROM ONE
ANOTHER.



WHEN WE ARRIVED, THE FIRE WAS
PROBABLY AT ITS PEAK.

THE FLAMES WERE SHOOTING ABOVE
THE SANCTUARY,

WHICH WAS A VERY LARGE
SANCTUARY.

YOU KNOW, I WOULD GUESS,
YOU KNOW,

IT MUST HAVE BEEN THREE
STORIES HIGH.

Narrator: THE NEXT MORNING,

THE PARISHIONERS OF TRINITY
LUTHERAN ARRIVED

TO FIND THEIR CHURCH IN RUINS.

REVEREND ROUSE MADE AN UNUSUAL
DECISION.

HE WOULD CONDUCT SERVICES
ANYWAY.

THE PARKING LOT WAS TURNED INTO
A MAKESHIFT CHURCH,

AND IN THE MIDST OF SMOKING
EMBERS,

THE CONGREGATION HELD THEIR
SUNDAY SERVICE.

Rev. Rouse:
AS I LOOKED IN THE FACES



OF MANY OF MY PARISHIONERS,

YOU COULD SEE THE SORROW,
THE DISBELIEF.

MANY WERE CRYING TEARS OF
SORROW.

MY STAFF WERE CRYING AND
HOLDING EACH OTHER.

THEY THOUGHT,
"THIS CAN'T BE TRUE."

Narrator: ARSON DOGS WERE
BROUGHT IN

TO LOOK FOR TRACES OF FLAMMABLE
LIQUIDS, BUT THEY FOUND NONE,

AND CHEMICAL TESTS
OF THE RUBBLE

COULDN'T FIND ACCELERANTS
EITHER.

THERE WAS REALLY VERY LITTLE
TRACE EVIDENCE

FOR US TO RECOVER
AT THE SCENES.

Narrator: THERE WAS NO VANDALISM
AT THE FIRE SCENES.

SO THE MOTIVE APPEARED TO BE
THRILL SEEKING,

AND ALL OF THE FIRES STARTED THE
SAME WAY --

ON THE GROUND FLOOR
AT CHEST LEVEL.

OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS,
THERE WERE EIGHT CHURCH FIRES.

SIX WERE LUTHERAN CHURCHES.

EVENTUALLY, THE ARSONS MOVED ON
TO BUSINESSES AND HOMES.

IN ONE NIGHT ALONE, THERE WERE
12 DIFFERENT ARSON FIRES.

ALL OF THE FIRES WERE SET
AT NIGHT

WITHOUT THE USE OF ACCELERANTS.

Whetsel: I WATCHED PEOPLE BURNED
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

OUT OF THEIR HOMES, LOSING ALL
THEIR POSSESSIONS,

STANDING LITERALLY IN THEIR
NIGHTCLOTHES

WITH NOTHING BUT THEIR LIFE LEFT
WITH THEIR CHILDREN SOBBING.

WE HEARD STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE
JUMPING OUT OF WINDOWS

OR BEING LOWERED
OUT OF WINDOWS,

A LOT OF STORIES ABOUT JUST
DEVASTATING FINANCIAL IMPACTS.

Narrator: ONE VICTIM WAS INSIDE
HER HOME WHEN THE FIRE STARTED.

Fox: I WAS JUST GETTING OUT OF
THE TUB WHEN I STARTED TO HEAR

STRANGE CRASHING NOISES OUTSIDE
MY HOUSE LIKE GLASS BREAKING.

I OPENED THE BATHROOM,
AND THERE WAS THE FRONT DOOR,

AND THE WALL TO THE LEFT WAS
ENTIRELY IN FLAMES.

IT WAS UP IN FLAMES.

Narrator: SHE GRABBED HER
ROOMMATE

AND RAN FRANTICALLY TO THE
FRONT OF THE HOUSE.

WE OPENED THE FRONT DOOR,

AND THE ENTIRE FRONT PORCH WAS
UP IN FLAMES.

SO OUR ACCESS TO GET OUT
WAS DENIED,

AND THAT WAS WHEN YOU MAKE THOSE
SPLIT-SECOND DECISIONS --

"AM I GONNA LIVE?
I'VE GOTTA MOVE."

Narrator: THE TWO MADE IT OUT
THE BACK DOOR

AND WERE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

FROM AUGUST TO JANUARY,
BARELY A NIGHT WOULD GO BY

WITHOUT ANOTHER FAMILY GETTING
BURNED OUT OF THEIR HOME.

WITH EACH FIRE, THE ARSONIST WAS
GETTING MORE DARING.

Whetsel: HE WAS BECOMING VERY
EMBOLDENED,

AND HE WOULD ACTUALLY SET A FIRE

LITERALLY LOOKING THROUGH THE
WINDOW AT THE FAMILY AT DINNER.

Narrator: MIRACULOUSLY, DESPITE
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE,

NO ONE HAD BEEN KILLED --

NO ONE UNTIL THE ARSONIST MADE
HIS NEXT MOVE.

Narrator:
IN THE FALL OF 1992,

RESIDENTS OF SEATTLE
AND THE SURROUNDING AREA

WERE UNDER SIEGE.

A SERIAL ARSONIST HAD SET OVER
25 FIRES,

TARGETING CHURCHES, BUSINESSES,
AND HOMES.

ALL OF THE FIRES WERE SET AT
NIGHT IN THE SAME WAY --

BY SOMEONE IGNITING BUILDINGS
AT CHEST LEVEL

WITHOUT THE USE
OF ACCELERANTS.

I CALLED OUR ARSONIST A
GUERRILLA FIGHTER

BECAUSE HE, GENERALLY UNDER THE
COVER OF NIGHT,

WOULD GO OUT, PROWL AROUND,
BE UNSEEN,

HIT HIS TARGET, AND BE GONE,
BASICALLY,

BEFORE HIS TARGET BECOMES KNOWN
TO ANYBODY AS A FIRE.

HE WAS VERY, VERY QUICK.
HE WAS EXTREMELY COVERT.

Narrator: RESIDENTS FORMED
VIGILANTE GROUPS

TO PROTECT
THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.

LOCAL FIRE COMPANIES MOUNTED
ALL-NIGHT PATROLS,

BUT STILL
THE FIRES CONTINUED.

THE ARSONIST APPEARED TO BE
TAUNTING FIRE INVESTIGATORS.

Pulver: HE WOULD DRAW OUT THE
FIRE DEPARTMENT.

WE WOULD HAVE ONE FIRE IN ONE
PART OF TOWN.

A FIRE STATION WOULD BE
NEARBY,

AND HE WOULD SET ANOTHER FIRE ON
THE OTHER SIDE.

SO HE KNEW WHERE THE FIRE
DEPARTMENTS WERE.

Narrator: A TASK FORCE
WAS FORMED

TO COORDINATE THE INVESTIGATION.

THEY COMMISSIONED

A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
OF THEIR SUSPECT.

BY INTERVIEWING PAST ARSONISTS

AND IDENTIFYING THE TRAITS THEY
ALL HAVE IN COMMON,

PSYCHOLOGISTS GAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

ABOUT THE TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL WHO
COMMITS THESE CRIMES.

THE PROFILE DESCRIBED THE
ARSONIST AS WHITE,

IN HIS LATE TEENS
TO EARLY 20s

WITH AN ALCOHOL AND/OR DRUG
PROBLEM.

HE WAS INTELLIGENT BUT AN
UNDERACHIEVER

WHO HAD PROBABLY JUST
EXPERIENCED

SOME MAJOR TRAUMA
IN HIS LIFE.

HE WOULD PROBABLY BE WORKING AS
A SALESMAN OR DELIVERY PERSON

SINCE HE SEEMED FAMILIAR WITH
MANY SECTIONS OF THE AREA.

THE ARSONIST LEFT NO CLUES,

BUT TWO MONTHS INTO
THE FIRE SPREE,

WHEN HE STARTED FIRE
NUMBER 28,

HE GOT CARELESS.

INVESTIGATORS FOUND TWO
FINGERPRINTS NEAR THE WINDOW

WHERE THE BLAZE WAS SET.

THE PRINTS WERE RUN
THROUGH A COMPUTER

AND CHECKED AGAINST HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF PRINTS ON FILE.

THERE WAS NO MATCH,
WHICH MEANT IT WAS LIKELY

THE ARSONIST HAD NO PRIOR
CRIMINAL RECORD.

TWO WEEKS LATER,
AT FIRE NUMBER 42,

HE MADE ANOTHER MISTAKE.

URINE WAS FOUND IN THE SNOW
NEAR THE FIRE.

FORENSIC SCIENTISTS CAREFULLY
GATHERED THE SAMPLE

FOR DNA TESTING,

BUT SINCE THE URINE WAS MIXED
WITH SNOW,

IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ISOLATE ANY
CELLS FOR ANALYSIS.

FORENSICALLY, WE WERE TOLD THERE
WERE SO FEW CELLS IN THERE

THAT WERE CAPABLE OF EXTRACTION
THAT IT WAS NOT FEASIBLE.

Narrator: MONTHS WENT BY, AND
THE FIRES CONTINUED.

THE TASK FORCE WAS NO CLOSER TO
IDENTIFYING A SUSPECT.

THERE WAS A CONCERN THAT THERE
WERE MORE OCCUPIED DWELLINGS

THAT WERE BEING TARGETED
AND A LARGE CONCERN

THAT WE WERE GONNA START SEEING
PEOPLE DYING.

Narrator: UNFORTUNATELY,

JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT
ON SEPTEMBER 22, 1992,

THOSE FEARS WERE REALIZED.

A FIRE BROKE OUT AT A
SENIOR-CITIZEN HOME

THAT HOUSED MORE THAN 400
PEOPLE.

THREE WOMEN, ALL RESIDENTS OF
THE HOME, DIED.

Whetsel: I FELT PERSONALLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DEATHS.

I WAS TORN UP.

UM...
THE GUILT OF THAT --

THE MISPLACED GUILT OF THAT
WAS SO SEVERE

THAT SHORTLY AFTERWARDS,
I REALLY LOST ALL WILL TO LIVE.

Narrator: NOW POLICE WERE
SEARCHING

NOT ONLY FOR AN ARSONIST
BUT A KILLER.

EVENTUALLY,
THE PRESS COVERAGE GENERATED

THE FIRST LEAD IN THE CASE.

A WOMAN CALLED POLICE TO SAY

THAT A WELL-DRESSED MAN BUMPED
INTO HER NEAR ONE OF THE FIRES.

THIS INDIVIDUAL STOOD OUT
TO HER.

FASHION -- IT WAS HIS CLOTHING,
THE MANNERISMS,

SOME ODORS THAT SHE DETECTED,

BOTH ALCOHOL AND AN
AFTERSHAVE OR COLOGNE.

Narrator: SHE SAID THE MAN WAS
INTOXICATED

AND HAD MENTIONED THE FIRES.

SHE GOT A GLIMPSE OF HIS
LICENSE-PLATE NUMBER

BUT DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN.

THE INCIDENT HAPPENED WEEKS
EARLIER,

AND SHE HAD ONLY A VAGUE
RECOLLECTION

OF WHAT THE MAN LOOKED LIKE.

IN THEIR DESPERATION,

INVESTIGATORS MADE
AN UNUSUAL DECISION.

THEY DECIDED TO TRY
FORENSIC HYPNOSIS.

Narrator: AFTER 60 SUSPICIOUS
FIRES HAD BEEN SET

IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,

INVESTIGATORS FINALLY
HAD A LEAD.

A WOMAN NEAR ONE OF THE FIRES

HAD SEEN A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING
MAN WHO HAD BUMPED INTO HER.

HE WAS INTOXICATED AND TALKED
ABOUT THE FIRES,

BUT THIS HAD HAPPENED WEEKS
BEFORE,

AND SHE COULDN'T REMEMBER
MUCH ABOUT HIM.

SO INVESTIGATORS DECIDED TO TRY
FORENSIC HYPNOSIS.

WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THAT
SPECIFIC, UNIQUE EVENT

IN HER MEMORY

THAT CAN TRIGGER THE REST OF THE
MEMORIES TO FLOOD OUT.

SO IT'S A RELAXATION TECHNIQUE.

WE GO BACK IN TIME WITH HER TO
THIS POINT IN TIME

AND HAVE HER KIND OF
WATCH A MOVIE FOR US

AND TELL HER WHAT SHE SEES.

Narrator: THIS WAS ONE OF THE
FIRST TIMES IN U.S. HISTORY

THAT FORENSIC HYPNOSIS WAS USED
IN A HIGH-PROFILE CASE,

AND IT WAS RISKY.

ONCE A WITNESS IS HYPNOTIZED,

MOST STATE LAWS PROHIBIT AN
INDIVIDUAL

FROM TESTIFYING AT A TRIAL.

AS THE WITNESS KEYED IN

ON THE ALCOHOL SHE SMELLED ON
THE MAN'S BREATH,

IT UNLOCKED IMAGES FROM THE
NIGHT OF THE FIRE,

AND SHE BEGAN TO REMEMBER
WHAT SHE SAW.

SHE RECALLED A MAN --

TALL, THIN, WITH HAIR PUSHED
BACK OFF HIS FACE,

WELL-DRESSED,
WEARING AN OXFORD SHIRT.

HE APPEARED INTOXICATED.

AND HIS CAR, A SEDAN,
POSSIBLY BLUE,

WAS UNUSUALLY CLEAN.

WHEN ASKED IF SHE COULD REMEMBER
THE LICENSE-PLATE NUMBER,

SHE RECALLED
THE FIRST LETTER.

I SEE THE LETTER "K."

SHE WAS ASKED IF SHE COULD
RECALL ANYTHING ELSE.

SHE SAID SHE SAW A 4...

AND AN "M."

THAT WAS ALL SHE COULD
REMEMBER.

Krogh: SHE WAS VERY RECEPTIVE,
A GREAT CANDIDATE.

ACTUALLY, I BELIEVE

THAT SHE PROBABLY HAD A
PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY

AFTER TALKING WITH HER
AFTER THE INTERVIEW.

SHE HAS THE ABILITY
FOR SOME RECALL

THAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE,

AND THAT'S PROBABLY UNIQUE OF
ALL THE INTERVIEWS I'VE DONE.

Narrator: THERE WERE
500,000 SEDAN CARS

IN NORTHERN WASHINGTON

THAT HAD LICENSE PLATES
WITH THE LETTER "K."

SO INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED

THAT THE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
OF THE SUSPECT

PROVIDED BY THEIR WITNESS

WAS THE KEY PIECE OF
INFORMATION.

TO PUT THIS ON PAPER,

THEY BROUGHT IN COMPOSITE
ARTIST JOHN HINDS.

HE INTERVIEWED THE WITNESS,
WHO WAS ONCE AGAIN HYPNOTIZED.

SHE WAS THE ONLY WITNESS I'VE
EVER DONE A COMPOSITE DRAWING OF

WHO'S BEEN UNDER HYPNOSIS,

AND THAT WAS KIND OF AN
UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE.

Narrator: HINDS ASKED HER TO
DIVIDE THE MAN'S FACE

INTO SECTIONS

AND TRY TO RECALL SPECIFIC
DETAILS OF HIS APPEARANCE.

COMPOSITE ARTISTS CATEGORIZE THE
HUMAN FACE BY FEATURES.

THERE ARE, FOR INSTANCE, NINE
DIFFERENT EYE SHAPES,

FIVE DIFFERENT HEAD SHAPES,
AND SO ON.

EACH FEATURE DESCRIBED
BY THE WITNESS

IS MARKED ON A FACT SHEET.

AN FBI FACIAL-IDENTIFICATION
CATALOG IS ALSO USED

TO JOG THE MEMORY.

IT CONTAINS THOUSANDS OF
PICTURES OF FACIAL FEATURES,

ALL VISUAL CUES
FOR THE WITNESS.

THEY'RE TAKING A VISUAL IMAGE,

VERBALLY TELLING ME
WHAT THAT IMAGE IS,

AND I'M HAVING TO TAKE THAT
VERBAL DESCRIPTION

AND TURN IT BACK INTO A VISUAL
IMAGE, AND THAT'S DIFFICULT.

Narrator: USING THE INFORMATION
FROM THE INTERVIEW,

HINDS DREW WHAT THE WITNESS
DESCRIBED.

THE PROCESS IS AN UNUSUAL
COMBINATION

OF INTERVIEWING SKILL AND
DRAWING TALENT.

EACH FEATURE WAS PUT ON PAPER
WITH PAINSTAKING ATTENTION

TO EVERY DETAIL THE WITNESS
REMEMBERED.

AFTER TWO HOURS OF METICULOUS
WORK, AN IMAGE WAS FORMED.

PERHAPS THIS WAS THE FIRST LOOK
AT THE ARSONIST.

WHEN THE DRAWING WAS FINISHED,
HINDS SHOWED IT TO THE WITNESS.

SHE SAID THAT IT
LOOKED JUST LIKE

THE NEATLY DRESSED MAN
SHE'D SEEN.

FIVE MONTHS INTO
THE FIRE SPREE,

THE TASK FORCE RELEASED THEIR
COMPOSITE DRAWING TO THE PRESS.

THEY ALSO RELEASED TWO OTHERS
AS A CONTROL

TO HELP GUARD AGAINST
FALSE LEADS.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE WAS
ALSO GIVEN TO THE PRESS.

IT WASN'T LONG

BEFORE THE HYPNOTICALLY ENHANCED
COMPOSITE DRAWING PAID OFF.

Keller: THE DAY THAT THE
COMPOSITES APPEARED

IN THE HERALD,
I JUST BECAME PHYSICALLY ILL.

Narrator: WHEN THE COMPOSITE
DRAWINGS

AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
OF THE ARSONIST

WERE RELEASED TO THE MEDIA,
THIS MAN, GEORGE KELLER,

BELIEVED HE KNEW THE IDENTITY
OF THE ARSONIST.

HE IMMEDIATELY WENT HOME

AND LOOKED THROUGH HIS
CELLPHONE RECORDS

AND DISCOVERED THAT ONE OF HIS
BUSINESS PHONES

WAS USED ON THE DATES
OF THE FIRES

FROM LOCATIONS
NEAR THE FIRES,

AND HIS BUSINESS CREDIT-CARD
RECEIPT SHOWED

THAT ONE OF HIS CARDS WAS USED
TO PURCHASE GASOLINE

IN AREAS NEAR THE FIRES
ON THE SAME DATES.

GEORGE KELLER FACED A
GUT-WRENCHING CHOICE.

THE PERSON USING THESE COMPANY
CREDIT-CARDS...

WAS HIS SON PAUL,

WHO BORE
A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

TO THE HYPNOTICALLY ENHANCED
COMPOSITE DRAWING.

Keller: I SAID, "THERE IS A
CONSIDERABLE RESEMBLANCE

BETWEEN THESE PICTURES
AND MY SON PAUL."

THEN I WENT THROUGH
THE PROFILE,

BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR A
SIGNIFICANT PERSONALITY TRAIT

OR SOMETHING THAT MIGHT
DISQUALIFY PAUL,

BUT AS I WENT THROUGH ALL THE
ITEMS OF THE PROFILE,

I COULDN'T ELIMINATE ANY.

Narrator:
PAUL KELLER WAS 27 YEARS OLD

AND EMPLOYED IN THE FAMILY
ADVERTISING BUSINESS.

HE WAS THE OLDEST OF THREE
CHILDREN

IN A DEEPLY RELIGIOUS
LUTHERAN FAMILY,

WHICH POSSIBLY EXPLAINED WHY
LUTHERAN CHURCHES WERE TARGETED.

PAUL KELLER'S SALES ROUTES TOOK
HIM ALL ACROSS THE AREAS

WHERE THE FIRES HAD BEEN SET.

HE WAS CERTAINLY EMOTIONALLY
RATTLED, VERY UPSET,

BUT AS TIME WENT ON, WE ALSO
UNDERSTOOD FOR HIM --

FROM HIM AND FROM HIS WIFE THAT
PAUL'S PRESENCE IN THEIR FAMILY

HAD BEEN UNSETTLING FROM ALMOST
THE TIME PAUL WAS BORN.

Narrator:
HIS FATHER TOLD POLICE

THAT PAUL HAD AN OBSESSION
WITH FIRE.

HE SAID HIS SON HAD APPLIED FOR
A FIREFIGHTING JOB

BUT HAD BEEN REJECTED,

AND THAT HE HAD SET A FIRE
WHEN HE WAS 9 YEARS OLD.

HE FIT OTHER ASPECTS
OF THE PROFILE.

HE WAS INTELLIGENT BUT HAD DONE
POORLY IN SCHOOL,

HAD PROBLEMS WITH ALCOHOL,
AND MOST STRIKING,

HAD SUFFERED
AN EMOTIONAL CRISIS

JUST BEFORE THE ARSON
SPREE BEGAN.

HE, AT THAT TIME, WAS GOING
THROUGH A DIVORCE.

HE WAS FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY.
HIS LIFE WAS FALLING APART.

HE WAS DRINKING HEAVILY.

Narrator: AND THE FIRST THREE
NUMBERS OF HIS LICENSE PLATE

WERE EXACTLY WHAT THE HYPNOTIZED
WITNESS REMEMBERED.

THE TASK FORCE PUT PAUL KELLER
UNDER SURVEILLANCE.

FOR 10 DAYS,
THEY FOLLOWED HIM,

HOPING THEY COULD CATCH
HIM IN THE ACT.

Fair:
THE TASK-FORCE PEOPLE

WERE TRYING TO KEEP PAUL UNDER
SURVEILLANCE,

WHICH WAS REAL CHALLENGING,

AND THEY WOULD LOSE HIM
PERIODICALLY,

AND EVERYBODY WOULD PANIC.

Narrator: EVENTUALLY,

THEY DECIDED TO TAKE HIM
INTO CUSTODY.

DETECTIVE...FROM THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT.

YES, HI.

IS YOUR NAME PAUL K. KELLER,
BORN JANUARY 6, 1966?

MR. KELLER,
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.

WE HAVE A WARRANT
FOR YOUR ARREST.

EXCUSE ME?

Narrator: WHEN KELLER ARRIVED AT
TASK-FORCE HEADQUARTERS,

HIS FATHER WAS WAITING
FOR HIM.

Whetsel: GEORGE KELLER
IS A BEAR OF A MAN,

AND AS HE EMBRACED HIM, HE PUT
HIS MOUTH CLOSE TO HIS EAR,

HUGGED HIM TIGHTLY,
AND SAID,

"IT'S OVER, SON.
IT'S ALL OVER."

I SAID, "IT'S ALL OVER,"
AND I SAID,

"LIFE AS YOU KNEW IT BEFORE
THIS MORNING IS OVER."

Narrator: AT FIRST, PAUL KELLER
SAID HE WAS INNOCENT.

Narrator: 15 MINUTES INTO
THE INTERVIEW,

THE TASK-FORCE AGENTS
COMPLIMENTED HIM,

SAYING HE WAS THE BEST ARSONIST
THEY'D EVER SEEN.

AND WITH THAT, KELLER CONFESSED
TO SETTING 75 FIRES,

INCLUDING THE FATAL FIRE AT THE
RETIREMENT HOME.

PAUL KELLER'S FINGERPRINTS
MATCHED THE ONES

FOUND ON THE WINDOW AT ONE OF
THE ARSON FIRES.

HIS METHOD OF OPERATION WAS
SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE.

HE JUST WALKED UP
TO EACH SITE

AND STARTED THE FIRE WITH A
CIGARETTE LIGHTER.

DID YOU COMMIT
THIS ARSON?

YES,
THERE WAS CORRUGATED --

YOU CAN SEE WHERE SOME
OF IT'S LEFT.

PROBABLY DID THE SAME THING.
JUST -- THAT FAST.

I PULLED AROUND, AND THE DOOR
WAS JUST WIDE OPEN.

THERE I WAS IN THAT STATE
OF MIND,

AND I LIT A CHAIR,
AND SHE JUST WENT.

THAT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT I
REALLY EVER STAYED TO WATCH.

IT WENT REAL FAST?

FAST.

IT ALSO WENT TO MULTIPLE
ALARMS VERY FAST.

KELLER ALSO SAID
HE WAS SEXUALLY MOLESTED

BY A VOLUNTEER FIREMAN
WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD.

PAUL KELLER WAS CONVICTED OF
ARSON AND MURDER

AND WAS SENTENCED
TO 99 YEARS IN PRISON.

HE WON'T BE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE
UNTIL HE IS 113 YEARS OLD.

AGAIN,
A WORD TO THE VICTIMS.

ALL OUR LIFE,
WE WILL BE SORROWFUL

FOR YOUR PAIN
AND YOUR LOSS.

WE SHALL NEVER FORGET TO PRAY
FOR YOUR HEALING,

RESTORATION, AND PEACE.

MAY GOD, IN HIS HELP,
IN HIS GRACE, HELP ALL OF US.

PAUL KELLER'S ARSON SPREE WAS
THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY.

IT'S VERY HARD TO RATIONALLY
EXPLAIN WHY I DID THAT,

BECAUSE THERE'S NO RATIONAL
REASON.

I WAS NOT ANGRY AT TRINITY,
BUT I WAS VERY EMPTY,

AND PERHAPS I THOUGHT

THAT OTHERS NEEDED TO BE
AS EMPTY AS I WAS.

UM...BUT IT WAS NOT A VALID
THING TO DO.

Narrator: AND INVESTIGATORS SAY
HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CAUGHT