The Pillow Pyro: Arson in Southern California
Housewives of True Crime
Tabitha Kane
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 July 2021
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Wildfires in California have long been a devastating part of life—but between 1984 and 1991, the flames weren’t just fueled by nature. A serial arsonist known as the Pillow Pyro was secretly igniting terror across Southern California, setting nearly 2,000 fires.
For years, authorities were baffled by the growing number of suspicious blazes. The fires were expertly set—many with time-delayed incendiary devices, often using everyday objects like cigarettes, rubber bands, and matches. But this wasn’t just a firebug getting his kicks. One of the blazes turned deadly, claiming the lives of four innocent people.
The most chilling part? The man responsible wasn’t a shadowy figure hiding in the woods. He was one of them—a fire investigator.
Join us as we dive into the twisted story of John Leonard Orr, the firefighter-turned-serial arsonist, whose obsession with fire destroyed countless lives and landscapes before he was finally caught.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to Housewives of True Crime. |
| 0:05.0 | Welcome. |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome. |
| 0:07.0 | I am Tabitha. |
| 0:09.0 | Give me Dateline, white wine, and I'll pick up your kids in the carpool line. |
| 0:14.0 | The next day, right? |
| 0:15.0 | Yeah, the next day. |
| 0:16.0 | Okay. |
| 0:17.0 | And I am Gretchen. |
| 0:18.0 | I like white wine, true crime, and in bed by nine, because I have a lot of stuff to do in the morning. |
| 0:26.7 | We are housewives of true crime. |
| 0:30.6 | Yes, we are. |
| 0:31.4 | Yes, we are. |
| 0:32.6 | House of whites are true crime. |
| 0:35.6 | Couple crime and couple of women. Housewives heard true crime. Welcome. |
| 0:45.2 | Welcome. |
| 0:46.1 | Housewives of true crime. |
| 0:48.7 | Good morning. |
| 0:50.8 | Back from vacation. |
| 0:53.2 | Yeah. |
| 0:54.0 | Are you happy to be home? I am happy to be home. Yes, I need a vacation from vacation. |
| 1:02.2 | I think you need a vacation from driving. Oh my God, I did so much damn driving with three kids and a dog in the 500 degree country of the United States |
... |
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