NCJ Number
174016
Journal
Fire and Arson Investigator Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: March 1998 Pages: 16-22
Date Published
1998
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the investigation of three fires in Seattle on September 22, 1992, which were later established as arson fires set by serial arsonist Paul Keller; in addition to the details of the investigations, the motives and methods of Keller are detailed.
Abstract
Four persons ultimately died as a result of these fires; two died during the fire at a retirement home, one shortly thereafter from a heart attack, and a fourth died a broken man due to one fire's destruction of his business. Although the fire at Four Freedoms Retirement House initially appeared to be accidental while the other two fires were clearly arson, the timing of the three fires led to a reinvestigation of the Four Freedoms fire. This investigation showed that there was a set of three fires in the building set without accelerants. After having been arrested for other arson fires and admitting his quilt, Keller was linked to the three fires on September 22 through independent evidence. His motive for the fires was determined to be frustration at being rejected in his efforts to become a firefighter. His fires were motivated by a desire to manipulate and control firefighters and the demands upon them, such that he became the one with the power to determine when and where firefighters had to fight fires. Convicted for murder in the Four Freedoms fire, Keller is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.