Crime To Burn

In central Pennsylvania, there's a fire that's been burning for over 60 years and it's still burning. They said it was just a tragic accident. A fire burning in the underground abandoned coal mines in Centralia, Pennsylvania was at first a nuisance, then a concern, then a crisis of epic consequence. However, many investigators over the decades have uncovered evidence that this fire wasn't actually an accident at all. We'll bring you not just the evidence uncovered in support of the different theories presented, but we'll bring you an in-depth understanding of the challenges of a mine fire from the perspective of a fire protection expert. You may know the story of Centralia, PA...but you've never heard it like this. 

This podcast is a true crime podcast about arson and criminal fires. Listener discretion is recommended. 

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Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Source List:

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK:  DeKok, David. Fire Underground - The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire. Global Pequot Press. 2010. Ebook.

Quigley, Joan. The Day the Earth Caved In - An American Mining Tragedy. Random House. 2007. Ebook

https://phys.org/news/2018-04-hydrogen-coal-fuel.html

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=33

https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/emst-0024-0004

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

2005 Interview with one of the last residents of Centralia, PA (WGALTV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0smgua_yW-g

https://www.abc27.com/digital-originals/history-of-centralia-a-pennsylvania-ghost-town/

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/programs-and-services/mining/abandoned-mine-reclamation/aml-program-information/centralia-mine-fire-resources.html

Centralia, PA - America's Burning Ghost Town (Documentary) (Part-time Explorer) https://youtu.be/Qj5LjacccJ0?si=Z3g2J_eQuoQ_M5Qo

Centralia, Pennsylvania - Full Documentary (Documentary Channel) https://youtu.be/0Lftblcp0Ns?si=0AeVaWcp7P_a_mQV

In this week's episode we conclude our coverage of the Evelyn Zigerelli Henderson case out of Harrisburg, PA. Evelyn was tried and convicted for setting her husband, a former sheriff's deputy, on fire on the back porch of their home following an argument over money. This week we evaluate the interpretations of the physical evidence by the fire investigator hired by the defense. I take you through his interpretations of the evidence and explain why it didn't sway a jury to find Evelyn not guilty. Do you think the jury got this one right? Let us know your thoughts. 

This podcast is a true crime podcast about arson and criminal fires. Listener discretion is recommended. 

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

For a complete list of sources, please see the show notes for Episode 42. 

In June of 2022, Evelyn Zigerelli Henderson called 911 to report that her husband of more than 30 years, a former sheriff's deputy, had either intentionally or accidentally set himself on fire. However, police quickly suspected foul play. Evelyn changed her story multiple times but ultimately, she was convicted for the murder of her husband by arson. Does the evidence presented in court stand up to scientific scrutiny? We'll go through it all so you can decide for yourself. This is a case of Murder by Arson in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Crime to Burn. 

This podcast is a true crime podcast about arson and criminal fires. Listener discretion is recommended. 

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Sources Used:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Vs. Evelyn Henderson in the Court of Common Pleas Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, NO. CP-22-CR-0003070-2022, Transcript of Proceedings Jury Trial Pages 1 - 539. 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Vs. Evelyn Henderson in the Court of Common Pleas Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, NO. CP-22-CR-0003070-2022, Transcript of Proceedings Sentencing Pages 1 - 9. 

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/wife-who-set-fire-to-husband-a-former-deputy-sheriff-and-watched-him-burn-before-eventually-calling-911-is-convicted-of-murder/

https://dauphin.crimewatchpa.com/da/310/cases/evelyn-henderson-convicted-second-degree-murder

https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/almID/1202480100178/

https://local21news.com/news/local/susquehanna-twp-woman-charged-with-criminal-homicide-and-arson

https://www.greghillassociates.com/the-exceptions-to-advising-someone-of-miranda-rights.html#:~:text=Nonetheless%2C%20there%20are%20two%20exceptions,the%20%E2%80%9Cpublic%20safety%E2%80%9D%20exception.

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/evelyn-zigerelli-henderson-pennsylvania-politician-murder-burn-retired-deputy-sheriff-husband/

https://www.pennlive.com/crime/2024/03/wifes-confession-in-killing-of-retired-cop-shown-to-jurors-i-set-the-fire-with-matches.html

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/wife-who-set-fire-to-husband-a-former-deputy-sheriff-and-watched-him-burn-before-eventually-calling-911-is-convicted-of-murder/

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/06/former-candidate-in-dauphin-county-politics-charged-in-death-of-husband-a-retired-chief-deputy-sheriff.html

Crime to Burn is a true crime podcast about criminal fires including arson, bombings, and criminal negligence. Hosted by April, a fire protection engineer with over 20 years of industry experience. Her husband, a self-proclaimed professional idiot, is her hilarious co-host and he may not be a fire expert but he's seen the movie Backdraft at least twice. 

Let's close out 2024 with some festive... arson? Turns out that one holiday tradition in Sweden, the Gävle Goat or Gävlebocken has a dark and sinister history associated with the otherwise festive tradition. The Gävle Goat has been damaged or destroyed 42 out of 58 years. It's been hit by cars, beaten with clubs, and even subjected to an Alfred Hitchcock style bird massacre. However, the most popular way to dispatch the over 40 foot tall goat is arson. It's been roasted a record 38 times. As of the time of this recording, on Christmas Day, 2024, the Gävlebocken was still standing but in many years it's fallen prey to the flames of vandals on New Year's Eve so will it survive to see the dawning of 2025? Only time will tell. You can check to see if it's still standing at the official youtube livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/@gavlegoatlive

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Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Sources Used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat#:~:text=The%20construction%20of%20the%20goat,Merchants%20pay%20the%20remaining%20sum.

https://youtu.be/R3G3yUSJLRY?si=q-4RiF8dCnOpmlZg

https://www.indy100.com/viral/gavle-goat-arson-tradition-sweden

https://www.visitgavle.se/en/gavlebockens-ode

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/society/woman-who-set-ikea-christmas-goat-on-fire-regrets-nothing/

https://www.wheelandanchor.ca/swedens-giant-goat-has-survived-burning-shooting-and-kidnapping-can-it-now-fight-off-the-birds/

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/12/gavle-goat-sweden-burn-interview-eje-berglund.html

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/g%C3%A4vle-goat-birds-1.7066692

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/every-year-a-swedish-town-builds-a-giant-straw-goat-and-people-just-cant-help-burning-it-down-180948158/

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/30/503881528/swedish-revelers-get-their-goat-again-as-holiday-tradition-meets-annual-arson

https://youtu.be/Wom8qQXt7j0?si=sbhoVHkpIWatfSr1

https://www.visitgavle.se/en/about-gavle-goat

https://youtu.be/ROzkRmrlqyU?si=4FZg6oXaFiuazTBc

In this final episode of the Juwan Deering Wrongful Arson Conviction Case, we learn even more allegations of investigatory and prosecutorial misconduct. We find out what evidence the independent investigator found indicating that Deering's rights were violated and who was allegedly responsible for those actions. In addition, we uncovered new court documents for a civil suit that sheds new light on some of the undisclosed witness testimony and offers an alternative plausible theory of how the fire started. 

We also remember the victims of this horrific tragedy: Taleigha Dean, Age 10; Craig Dean, Age 8; Aaron Dean, Age 7, Eugene Dean, Age 5, and Michelle Frame, Age 11. 

Special thanks to the University of Michigan Law school for providing the court transcripts for the original Juwan Deering Trial. 

The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.

You can support their mission to help fight wrongful convictions here: https://funraise.org/give/National-Registry-of-Exonerations/49d88db1-4a88-433c-a0ab-3a4453535ba8/

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

For a complete list of sources used, please see Episode 38. Below are additional sources used this week:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mied-2_22-cv-11809/pdf/USCOURTS-mied-2_22-cv-11809-4.pdf

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mied-2_22-cv-12973/pdf/USCOURTS-mied-2_22-cv-12973-1.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.49.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.53.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.56.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.71.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.87.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.91.0.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.363716/gov.uscourts.mied.363716.128.0.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64868582/deering-v-oakland-county/

https://thecountypress.mihomepaper.com/articles/courser-attorney-moves-to-have-case-tossed/

https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/28006/u-m_innocence_clinic_prods_oakland_prosecutor_to_look_into_2006_metro_detroit_conviction

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/05/14/juwan-deering-arson-oakland-county-prosecutor-jail-informantsf/5071835001/

https://youtu.be/vLu-lil21IE?si=f-_clC2Y8wknYriM

https://www.youtube.com/live/niu2qkygKUA?si=gxtceGpXNwjMiXVq

This week we continue our coverage of the Juwan Deering wrongful conviction. Juwan Deering was a Michigan man accused of setting a fatal fire that killed 5 children in Royal Oak Township, Michigan. Deering was convicted based on now-debunked arson investigation myths but that isn't the only reason he was convicted. The prosecutor in the case stands accused of some shocking misconduct and we get into it in this episode. Could it be that political motives pushed a prosecutor violate ethics standards to secure a conviction in a mass murder that had been languishing for 6 years? We'll tell you what he's accused of doing but we can only make guesses at his motives for these alleged actions. 

Special thanks to the University of Michigan Law school for providing the court transcripts for the original Juwan Deering Trial. 

The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.

You can support their mission to help fight wrongful convictions here: https://funraise.org/give/National-Registry-of-Exonerations/49d88db1-4a88-433c-a0ab-3a4453535ba8/

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

For a complete list of sources used, please see Episode 38. Below are additional sources used this week:

https://catherinebroad.blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/March-27-2022-Article.pdf

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674370505001303#:~:text=Taken%20together%2C%20these%20studies%20show,not%20make%20that%20memory%20reliable.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/oakland-co-prosecutor-uncovers-ethical-violations-in-deadly-arson-case-conviction

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/05/14/prosecutor-townsend-whitmer-kidnap-ethics/5094269001/

Juwan Deering was charged and convicted for setting a fire at a home that killed five children. However, investigators based their determination of how the fire began on now-debunked arson investigation myths. Juwan Deering was seen by investigators and the court system in a negative light and as a result he did not receive a fair trial nor did investigators behave in an ethical manner in prosecuting the case. Find out all the details of Juwan Deering's case on Crime to Burn. 

Special thanks to the University of Michigan Law school for providing the court transcripts for the original Juwan Deering Trial. 

The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.

You can support their mission to help fight wrongful convictions here: https://funraise.org/give/National-Registry-of-Exonerations/49d88db1-4a88-433c-a0ab-3a4453535ba8/

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Sources:

Juwan Deering court transcripts provided courtesy of the University of Michigan law school. People of the State of Michigan v Juwan Knumar Deering No. 06-207873-FC

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=6042

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2022/08/05/juwan-deering-lawsuit-fire-royal-oak-township/10246683002/

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2022/08/05/juwan-deering-lawsuit-fire-royal-oak-township/10246683002/

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/30/1041970362/juwan-deering-michigan-freed-wrongful-conviction-fire-children-deaths

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/09/30/juwan-deering-free-prison/5928691001/

https://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/deering-juwan.htm

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2021/08/31/prosecutor-vacate-life-sentence-man-convicted-fire-killing-five-kids-juwan-deering/5665134001/

https://www.chronline.com/stories/man-sentenced-to-life-for-fire-that-killed-five-children-freed-from-prison,273634

https://casetext.com/case/deering-v-oakland-cnty-3

https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/juwan-deering-exonerated-by-detroit-area-court-after-15-years

https://www.wxyz.com/news/new-evidence-vindicates-man-convicted-of-fire-that-killed-5-children-decades-ago-in-royal-oak-township

https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/09/man-wont-face-second-trial-after-wrongful-conviction-in-house-fire-that-killed-5-kids.html

https://apnews.com/article/fires-fec10106eec4b2646a8b65608fe015d3

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mied-2_11-cv-10320/pdf/USCOURTS-mied-2_11-cv-10320-1.pdf

https://www.foxnews.com/us/case-ends-man-wrongly-convicted-5-kids-deaths

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/22/conviction-sentences-dropped-for-house-fire-that-killed-5-kids/

https://casetext.com/case/deering-v-oakland-cnty-3

https://law.justia.com/cases/michigan/court-of-appeals-unpublished/2008/20081211-c274208-93-274208-opn.html

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2004/04/06/reward-offered-in-arson-case-that-killed-5-children/

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2006/08/24/killer-gets-life-without-parole/

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/05/14/juwan-deering-arson-oakland-county-prosecutor-jail-informantsf/5071835001/

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mi-court-of-appeals/1403179.html

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2021/09/21/oakland-county-judge-grants-new-trial-man-serving-life-fire-killed-5/5789185001/

https://www.frontpagedetectives.com/p/michigan-freed-prisoner-house-fire-child-killed

In November 2017, a "volunteer reporter" went viral for her coverage of a house fire in Norfolk, Virginia for all the right reasons. What she lacks in professional broadcast training and polished vocabulary, she makes up for with her enthusiasm. While her reporting is nothing short of a national treasure, the fact is that in her coverage of this fire, she happened to actually solve a crime. Our hats off to you Rhoda Young. We are in your debt as a society and this episode is dedicated to you.  

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Please check out Rhoda Young's YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@RhodaYoungTVgmail

You can find the video we discuss on Statter 911 here: https://youtu.be/xuUkvE0H1Ig?si=_seQI2IUuGKMhW2W

and the Statter 911 YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@STATter911

Source List:

https://www.boredpanda.com/woman-reporter-fire-arson-case-solves-facebook-live-rhoda-young/

https://www.wral.com/man-arrested-charged-with-arson-after-norfolk-house-fire/17146449/?version=amp

https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/don-stricker-jr-mahwah-fire-chief-who-started-scuba-team-dies

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/crime/norfolk-man-charged-with-burning-down-his-own-home/291-495320737

https://www.wtkr.com/2018/09/05/norfolk-man-pleads-guilty-to-setting-house-on-fire

https://www.wtkr.com/2017/11/27/crews-battling-large-house-fire-in-norfolk

Angie Abdullah should be alive today. She should be celebrating the accomplishments and successes of her now-adult children. Instead she was prematurely silenced by a controlling husband who carried out a gruesome murder and attempted to cover his crime with arson, risking the lives of four children in the process. However, her husband, Azad Abdullah, was as inept an arsonist as he was a husband and provider. As a result of his ineptitude, police quickly figured out Azad was responsible for arson, murder, attempted murder, and felony injury to a child. He was sentenced to death for his crimes and he sits today in an Idaho prison awaiting his execution date. Azad Abdullah silenced Angie forever, so today we give a voice to an innocent victim of a tyrannical husband by telling Angie Abdullah's story on Crime to Burn. 

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

Source List:

https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/3133306/state-v-azad-haji-abdullah/

https://law.justia.com/cases/idaho/supreme-court-civil/2021/46497.html