In a story posted yesterday afternoon, The Fire, I told you the tale of Dick and the fire next door at neighbor Bob's house. I left out a few of the details --some, though certainly NOT all, later came out in the local newspaper. So, I thought I would share them now.
It was bad enough that Dick didn't put forth much effort to save his friend Bob, but unbeknownst to anyone else, the cause of the deadly fire goes back to Dick too. You see, after the barbecue ended, Dick told Bob that he would take care of the grill. His idea of "taking care of it" was to pull it under Bob's wooden deck without covering the grill OR dousing the fire. He placed the hot grill right next to a wooden support post and then sauntered home.
After Bob's house burned down, both the local fire and police departments initiated investigations. Eventually, Dick was indicted for murder due to depraved indifference. The District Attorney originally had planned to charge Dick with Involuntary Manslaughter, but Dick's high-priced attorney was able to get the charge reduced.
The star witness for the prosecution was the neighbor from across the street, Jane. In her testimony, Jane said that Dick told her that a) he had apprised Bob of the entirety of the situation and b) he had already called the fire department.
Upon cross-examination, Dick's high-priced lawyer got Jane to admit that she had a drinking problem 30 years ago and that she once lied to a friend. The defense then paraded witness after witness who testified that Jane was not well thought of by some members of the community and that many people thought she was a habitual liar. One woman testified that a year or two ago she saw Jane throw a lit cigarette out of her car window!!
When Dick took the stand, he claimed that Jane told HIM that she had already called the fire department, so he saw no point in making an additional call. He also stated that Jane was lying when she said that Dick had apprised Bob of the desperate circumstances. Dick said that he hadn't talked to Bob at all since the barbecue ended earlier in the evening.
Dick was acquitted of the charge against him. He later sued Jane for defamation of character and they reached an out-of-court settlement. Jane had to sell her house and move in with her sister in another state. Dick also sued Bob's estate claiming that smoke from the fire damaged a few rooms in his house. He and the estate reached a settlement of over $500,000.
It was bad enough that Dick didn't put forth much effort to save his friend Bob, but unbeknownst to anyone else, the cause of the deadly fire goes back to Dick too. You see, after the barbecue ended, Dick told Bob that he would take care of the grill. His idea of "taking care of it" was to pull it under Bob's wooden deck without covering the grill OR dousing the fire. He placed the hot grill right next to a wooden support post and then sauntered home.
After Bob's house burned down, both the local fire and police departments initiated investigations. Eventually, Dick was indicted for murder due to depraved indifference. The District Attorney originally had planned to charge Dick with Involuntary Manslaughter, but Dick's high-priced attorney was able to get the charge reduced.
The star witness for the prosecution was the neighbor from across the street, Jane. In her testimony, Jane said that Dick told her that a) he had apprised Bob of the entirety of the situation and b) he had already called the fire department.
Upon cross-examination, Dick's high-priced lawyer got Jane to admit that she had a drinking problem 30 years ago and that she once lied to a friend. The defense then paraded witness after witness who testified that Jane was not well thought of by some members of the community and that many people thought she was a habitual liar. One woman testified that a year or two ago she saw Jane throw a lit cigarette out of her car window!!
When Dick took the stand, he claimed that Jane told HIM that she had already called the fire department, so he saw no point in making an additional call. He also stated that Jane was lying when she said that Dick had apprised Bob of the desperate circumstances. Dick said that he hadn't talked to Bob at all since the barbecue ended earlier in the evening.
Dick was acquitted of the charge against him. He later sued Jane for defamation of character and they reached an out-of-court settlement. Jane had to sell her house and move in with her sister in another state. Dick also sued Bob's estate claiming that smoke from the fire damaged a few rooms in his house. He and the estate reached a settlement of over $500,000.
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