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Murder In America

S2 Ep112: CALIFORNIA - FIRE CAPTAIN KILLER: California's Deadly Arsonist

Murder In America

Blood In The Sink Productions

True Crime

4.8 β€’ 8.5K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 14 April 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 80's and 90's, California was rocked by an astounding number of arson attacks. Clothing stores, grocery stores, forests... nothing in the state was safe. But when one of these attacks eventually took the lives of four individuals, the attention of the authorities was captured, and the manhunt to catch the killer arsonist began. Little did the authorities know, however, that the killer was hiding among them, like a wolf amongst sheep...
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SOURCES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNN6gNldt0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G2PT82ckYM&t=2s

Season 9, Episode 21: Point of Origin – Forensic Files

Ex-Fire Investigator Gets Life Term in Fatal Arson – LA Times

Manuscript Adds Fuel to the Fire in Murder Case – LA Times

Firefighters searched the rubble of a gutted hardware store… – UPI

Ex-Fire Captain Charged in 4 Deaths in 1984 Store Blaze : Arson: Once acclaimed investigator, now serving a 30-year sentence for setting six fires, could face death penalty if convicted of South Pasadena crime – LA Times

Burning Ambition – People

History in flames – Glendale News-Press

United States of America, Plaintiff-appellant, v. John Leonard Orr, Defendant-appellee, 977 F.2d 593 (9th Cir. 1992)

United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. John Leonard Orr, Defendant-appellant, 29 F.3d 636 (9th Cir. 1994)

Arson: The Scorched-Earth Obsession – Newsweek

https://www.frontlinewildfire.com/wildfire-news-and-resources/california-wildfires-history-statistics/

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/california-wildfires-how-to-help-facts-faq#:~:text=More%20than%205.7%20million%20acres,began%20on%20July%2029%2C%202022.

Fire Lover: A True Story

https://anca.org/remembering-the-1990-college-hills-fire/

https://www.healthline.com/health/pyromania#definition

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/john-orr-arsonist-father-firefighter-murderer-family-lori-orr-kovach






Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi everyone, Patrick from the podcast True Crime Obsessed here.

0:06.1

We're so excited to tell you that the Obsessed Network has helped publish the audiobook of

0:10.7

Motor Spirit, written by Jared Cobak.

0:13.8

Let's go back to 1969 when Evil was lurking in California.

0:18.4

He called himself Zodiac, a murderer, a ghost, haunting the San Francisco Bay area.

0:24.6

In Motor Spirit, we descend into the California underworld, down in the depths of Zodiac,

0:29.9

telling the story of the Zodiac murders in a way that's never been done before.

0:34.1

Returning to original sources like newspapers and police reports and small press publications

0:39.1

with extensive literary analysis of Zodiac's letters, Motor Spirit offers a history that decodes

0:45.7

the mystery.

0:46.7

We find a Zodiac who embodies the chaos and catastrophes of the American Promised Land.

0:52.1

It's the portrait of a killer of a place and of a state of mind.

0:56.2

Motor Spirit is now available on Audible, voiced by If Jenny a Ball.

1:01.3

So if you're looking for your next great True Crime Listen, we hope you'll check it out.

1:06.5

Morning.

1:13.9

The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences.

1:17.1

We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers

1:20.8

even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.

1:25.0

Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses

1:30.1

against children.

1:31.4

This podcast is not for everyone.

1:33.6

You have been warned.

...

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