James Hibbard (Reporter)
Appearances
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
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The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Search for The Binge channel on Apple Podcasts or head to getthebinge.com to subscribe today. When Rob wakes up the next morning, he learns that the arsonist took the bait. CSB came to the fake construction site and left their signature threats. The plan worked, except for one minor detail.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
With the cameras pointing uselessly into the desert, CSP slipped away into the darkness.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Now, the young reporter has a decision to make. take the reward money and set up another meeting with the arsonist, or stick to his journalistic guns and protect his source. So what happens next?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
But out of everyone on the task force, Rob is the most upset.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
After all those false leads, countless dead ends, and who knows how many sleepless nights, Rob feels like things are really starting to fall apart.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The team takes a couple days to recover, and then they regroup. They're hopeful that with a few adjustments, they can lure the arsonist back to the construction site again. So the cameras stay up, and now they're pointing in the direction of the fake construction site.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
After monitoring the cameras for weeks, at considerable expense, Rob and his team are beginning to lose hope. They're just about ready to take the whole operation down and try something else. But before they move on, they've got one last idea up their sleeve.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
a sign with a big colorful drawing of a gaudy mansion, just to make it super clear exactly what type of house would be going up on this property.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
And right below the mock-up of the house, they put a message addressed specifically to the arsonist. It says, We promise to live here in harmony with all the wildlife, nature, plants, and you. They mount the sign on the fence, right in view of the camera.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It's late at night, and rookie police officer Carrie Miaso is crouched over a tiny desk inside a repurposed shipping container in the desert.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It's April 20th, 2001, and it's not Carrie's first shift in the shipping container. She's actually been doing this for weeks.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Outside, the desert is quiet. But inside, she's sharing the cramped space with another officer, John. John is a former Marine-turned-cop, more senior than Carrie, who just finished her probation. Hour after hour, Carrie and John stare at the screen, showing the fake construction site with its fancy new sign.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Carrie squints at the grainy monitor as the shape of a person comes into view.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Did you give that spiel to the cops?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Carrie knows she cannot miss this opportunity. Everything the task force has been doing for over a year has all built up to this one single moment. This is it. John leaps into action, dialing headquarters to let them know what's happening. Meanwhile, hands shaking, Carrie reaches for the police radio, her old nemesis.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
This is the actual recording of Carrie calling in the report.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Lieutenant Rob Handy felt complicated about this.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The call goes out from dispatch for the nearest unit to respond immediately. But the nearest unit was kind of in the middle of something.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
during the drive-through of a fast food restaurant.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
By the time these guys reach the mountain preserve, not only are they probably covered in ketchup and coke, the suspect has fled the scene. But the officers know these trails like the back of their hand. So they charge off into the darkness to cut him off. Minutes later, Carrie's on the dreaded radio again.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
the man who wrote on the sign has been arrested. In the shipping container, Carrie and her partner John are ecstatic.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
After a full year of mind-numbing surveillance, fruitless dead ends, failed operations, and constant media pressure, now, finally, they have someone in handcuffs.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
FBI case lead Terry Kearns gets a call, too.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
There's an undeniable excitement in the air.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
What happened to him? A few minutes later, FBI Special Agent Ken Williams pulls up to the scene.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The suspect has left a message for the builders of this fake construction site. In response to their pledge to live in harmony with the plants and animals of the desert, he wrote two words. Okay, thanks. Followed by that familiar acronym, CSP. And there, in the middle of the street, is their perp.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
As a journalist, I respect James' decision. But decisions have consequences. Not only would James lose out on $76,000, the decision will impact him in ways he never expected.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The suspect is wearing nothing but a light T-shirt and boxer shorts. In his hands is a red marker.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
When Ken arrives at the station, the suspect is waiting for him in the interrogation room. Ken knows he has to work quickly, because even though this guy was caught at the scene of the crime, he was not caught committing arson. Ken has a limited window to get this guy talking, or he'll be set free.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
According to Ken, there are three types of jail interviews. There's the tough guy,
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
At 6.33 in the morning on the 20th of April, 2001, the interview begins.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
In the room is Special Agent Ken Williams and another investigator from the Phoenix PD.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
What you're hearing is a police recording I got a hold of, Ken's actual interview with the suspect. The suspect is shivering, wearing nothing but a T-shirt. So they bring him a space blanket.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The man has brown hair, beginning to gray. He wraps the silver blanket around his shoulders. You can hear it rustling in the tape.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
They start with a simple question.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
He says, I did a real stupid thing, guys.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
He read an article in the New Times about the guy whose house burned down and how he wanted to rebuild.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Pissed off not at the guy wanting to rebuild. Pissed off at the guy burning those houses down.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
That's his story. And he sticks to it.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
He's done something stupid, he admits. Impulsive. Criminal, even. But he's not the arsonist. And tonight's message was just an isolated incident.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
They start asking the man about his life. Do you have a family?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
They learned that he lives just a couple of streets away from Lee Benson. His backyard connects directly into the preserve. They ask the suspect if he's been following the fires.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
James Hibbert, the guy who interviewed the arsonist, is about to fall under the microscope of the task force.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The man tells him he's an avid hiker and jogger, a bit of a night owl. He's self-employed in marketing and PR. He's a soccer referee. He's married with a daughter, and they have quite a few pets.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
He's on the board of the local homeowners association. He doesn't exactly fit the mold of an eco-terrorist. The investigators ask him how he feels about the environment. He says he thinks we should all recycle. But what about the Earth Liberation Front? Ever heard of them? The suspect tells them he might have had a look on their website briefly after reading about them in the New Times.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Or perhaps it was an episode of 60 Minutes. He recalls that their spokesperson looked like a tree hugger, a granola eater.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
They asked the man about his educational background. The suspect studied journalism.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Interesting, Ken suggests, because whoever set these fires would have to be pretty media savvy.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The conversation goes around in circles.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
You don't know what through your stupid... They go from the fires, to the man's background, to the fires again.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Ken also tells me he was struck by the changes in the suspect's demeanor.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Ken gets the impression that his suspect is trying to suss out what the task force knows.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
By this time, it's after 9.30 in the morning. Ken is confident he's got all he can from the interview, at least for now.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The interview is over. They send the man back to a holding cell. Later that day, they'll let him go. The mood in the police station is celebratory. They've got a suspect. And even though he'll walk free, they're going to watch him like a hawk. But not everyone is celebrating.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Warren Jeroms, the local guy who loves jogging in the preserves, is about to receive a phone call that will change his life forever.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Mark Sands, his running buddy and hiking partner.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The guy he sat next to at church while they poured over a copy of the Phoenix New Times interview with the arsonist.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Next time on The Arsonist Next Door, Mark Sands has been hiding some dark secrets, and his best friend Warren is pulled into a spiral of lies.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
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The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It's not just James in the crosshairs. The entire Phoenix New Times is now a target.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The Arsonist Next Door is an original production of Sony Music Entertainment and Novel. This series was written and reported by me, Sam Anderson. It was produced and reported by Leona Hamid. Our assistant producer is Madeline Parr. Research by Zayana Youssef. Additional production from Tom Wright and G. Stiles. Our editor is Dave Anderson. Additional story editing from Max O'Brien.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
From Novel, our executive producers are Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. From Sony Music Entertainment, our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch. Sound design, mixing, and scoring by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Our original theme song was composed and performed by Nicholas Alexander.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Production management from Cherie Houston, Joe Savage, Sarah Tobin, and Charlotte Wolfe. Fact Checking by Dania Suleiman. Story Development by Nell Gray Andrews. Novels Director of Development is Selena Mehta. And Willard Foxton is Novels Creative Director of Development.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Special thanks to Jen Fifield, Libby Goff, Bob Kahn, Xander Adams, Anthony Wallace, Steve Ackerman, Carolyn Sher-Levin and the team at Reviewed and Cleared, Mario Cacciatolo, Isaac Fisher, Kevin Lee Carras, Jess Swinburne, Sonny Marr, Carly Frankel, and the team at WME.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Rob Handy and his task force, with the help of the county attorney, take the New Times to court. Trent Crump says the team suspected the newspaper might have information that could blow the whole case wide open.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Even readers of the paper are viewed with suspicion.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The task force is casting a wide net.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Did it turn up anything?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The Binge. It's January 2001, and for 28-year-old reporter James Hibbard, the year has started with a bang. He managed to do what an entire task force of over 40 cops and FBI agents could not.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Rival newspaper, the Arizona Republic, published an editorial that said, quote, if you meet with an egocentric fire starter, you become part of his gang. You not only spread his message for him, you let him walk away, Zippo in hand. In the face of all this, the pressure on James begins to take a toll.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
This experience had a lasting impact on James. He was blamed from all sides for prolonging the arson investigation. But looking back on it now, it's clear that that's not really what happened. Because back at the task force HQ, investigators are starting to see a silver lining in James's interview. Was there anything in that article that helped you guys?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
And there is a lot to dissect. The arsonist told James that he's a management professional with an advanced degree. He has a healthy income and works in downtown Phoenix. Plus, the whole piece is littered with James' impressions of the guy.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The fact that this man wanted to do an interview at all and the way he organized the meeting, that's also a clue. And in the opinion of Special Agent Ken Williams, a big mistake.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
When the task force really digs into the arsonist's quotes, they notice a key detail. This man is adamant that none of the fires were personal, except for one, the second fire at Lee Benson's place. He tells James that fire was personal. Quote, that monstrosity stuck out like a sore thumb. We warned him not to come back. That's how they realize.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
After weeks of surveilling James Hibbard, the Phoenix New Times, their delivery trucks, and random people reading the paper on their lunch break, they decide to try something new.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
a trap in what they're hoping is CSP's own backyard, where one rookie officer will soon find herself in the heart of the action.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
From Sony Music Entertainment and Novel, I'm Sam Anderson. You're listening to The Arsonist Next Door.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
When this arson spree first began, back when only a couple of houses had been burned, there was no task force. There was just Lieutenant Rob Handy, his small team, and anyone else who might be up for helping out in their spare time.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It was the early days of the investigation, and there doesn't seem to be a single officer interested in Rob's vague request to help with some long hours of overnight surveillance.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Carrie is a rookie officer fresh out of the Phoenix Police Academy. She has no idea that in just a few months, she'll end up playing a pivotal role in the investigation. In fact, she's only recently completed her first solo patrol.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Something was going down at a local fast food restaurant, and Kerry was the closest officer to the incident.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Ever felt the fear of public speaking? Now imagine you have to speak in front of an audience made up entirely of cops.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
That's why when Rob pops his head into her daily squad briefing with a mysterious offer of more work on a local arson investigation, Carrie, unlike her more senior colleagues, is all in.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
What happens next is the part you've heard already. This case snowballs into a massive Joint Task Force investigation. Houses are burning down left and right. The media is in a frenzy about God-fearing eco-terrorists running wild. The FBI has made this one of their top priorities. And rookie officer Kerry? Before long, she's doing the kind of stuff that senior officers dream of.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
She's working undercover, conducting surveillance, generally having a ball.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It wasn't just that Carrie was missing from her usual duties. Suddenly, she was working crazy shifts, six days a week, with overtime pay.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Now, the same senior officers who refused Rob's request at the start of the investigation are beginning to grumble. Why does this rookie get to be part of the biggest case in town?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Rob remains loyal to this rookie volunteer, and his loyalty is about to pay off big time. Kerry and the rest of Rob's team are gathered in the main briefing room of the arson task force. FBI case lead Terry Kearns is there.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
Special agent Ken Williams is there. We had a really good team on this. Trent Crump is there, too. We're doing all sorts of stuff, trying to figure out who's involved, who's not involved. And coordinating all of them is Lieutenant Rob Handy.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
It's the same room where, not long before, the team was enraged to find out they'd been scooped by a cub reporter. And before that, where they discussed that local man caught masturbating in a construction site. And before that, where a police sketch was handed round that bore a striking resemblance to one of their very own lead investigators.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
We'll never know exactly what it felt like to be in that room. But if I had to guess, I'll bet it smelled strongly of coffee and unprocessed emotions. But through all the highs and more often lows, they gathered here and tried their best to figure things out.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
By the time spring 2001 rolls around, after more than 12 months of investigating and a budget that was quickly approaching a million dollars, they still aren't even sure if CSB is one guy or a group of terrorists.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
His front-page interview for the Phoenix New Times blew up, and the task force is not happy about this. They put the screws on James, pressuring him to cooperate. And they offered him a $76,000 reward if he does.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
So what do you do when you can't find the needle in the haystack? Well, you could try making the needle come to you by setting a trap.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The idea is this. stage a fake construction site and see if they can get the arsonist to come to them.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
— In the aftermath of James Hibbard's interview, with CSP's line about that second Lee Benson fire being personal, they know exactly where to set this thing up. Just around the corner from Lee Benson's house, one of the neighbors has offered to help. He owns an undeveloped lot just around the corner from Lee.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
This neighbor agrees to let the task force stage the beginnings of a construction site on his property.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
They also set up a big metal shipping container in the desert close by with monitors to watch the surveillance footage live.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The trap is almost ready.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 4: The Bait
The very first night the cameras are installed, the sun sets over Phoenix and the moon begins to rise over the desert. Sneaking through the cul-de-sac under the cover of darkness, a shadowy figure makes their way towards the fake construction site and starts attaching notes to the fence.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
That hit hard. It was like everything swoons for a moment. I didn't really know what to do with it, so I just got to work asking questions instead. He's doing a lot of the talking initially and kept using the word they. He said that there are a group of four of them.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He talked about how he set the fires. He would say details like how he would wait for a calm night with no gusting winds, how they prayed before each fire, how they didn't want firefighters to be hurt.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I noticed that he didn't use the word arson. He always called it like activities.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He starts, like, grooving and enjoying the music and lecturing. You know, if you don't look suspicious, suspicion isn't drawn to you, he said. One of our keys to success is how well we blend in. At one point, he said something like, you know, what did they expect, you know, for me to carry an Olympic torch? He struck me as arrogant, cocky, and kind of controlling.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
One question that was important to me was how he feels when he lights these fires. And the reason I wanted to know that is I wanted to try and get at what's driving all this really. Because he talked about the politics, but I didn't really get the sense that this guy was an eco-warrior. It felt more personal.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
So I asked him how he feels when he lights a fire, and he says, there's no thrill, there's some gamesmanship there, but I don't take pride in being a criminal. Well, I thought that was bullshit. So near the end of the interview, I circled back and asked the same question again, just a different way. And this time he gave a different answer. He said, fear and anticipation.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
That's what he feels when he does this. Fear of being observed and then the anticipation of the media coverage. and it suddenly made the location make sense. He wasn't in Patriot Square despite the police presence. He was there because of it. It made it more risky, more of a thrill.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
In like a ghost, out like a ghost, another publicity mission accomplished. It was clear what he was doing. He's addicted to the risk and the media attention. And I want the reader to know that we also knew what he was doing.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
And in the letter, he talked about trying to call the New Times after reading Burn, Baby, Burn, and he couldn't get through.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
No, because we were getting the story out of it.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I do remember sitting there on that bench after he left and just feeling the weight of the story. And I was like, you know, I was like the dog who caught the car and the car was on fire, basically.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The first thing to do was to make 100% sure this was the guy.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Gave him a couple of the details that he had given us that hadn't been made public.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Suddenly, our phone was blowing up from them because they were kind of freaking out and wanting to know what we were going to do. They didn't want us to run the story.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
But it doesn't mean that a respected news outlet doesn't do that interview with somebody who is so inherently newsworthy. So you just try to provide context and trust the reader.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
In like a ghost, out like a ghost, happy hunting. It felt a bit unreal.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
There was a sidebar to the story I felt was important, which was explaining, here's what we've been able to confirm. Here's what we don't know, which is basically everything he's claiming about his biography and the group. I wanted the reader to know our source was likely to be an unreliable narrator.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
And being transparent about everything about what we know and what we don't was the most responsible way to do it.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The night before, there was definitely a feeling of, you knew it was going to be like a bomb going off.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Exclusive interview with the preserve's arsonist.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I think there was just a bit of a sense around the newsroom that we had landed a big one. We had caught the big fish, and now people were coming for us.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
So we couldn't be accused of holding anything back. There'd be nothing for cops to come after us for, or so I naively thought at the time.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
What happened next was the cops wanted me to come in for a chat. It wasn't like good cop, bad cop. It was like bad cop, worse cop, even worse cop.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Not how James remembers it. Three hard-boiled Phoenix PD detectives just staring at you. I got the vibe that they all thought I was a piece of shit.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I confirmed, yes, this was true. Yes, that was true. He answers all of our questions. Then they started edging into details that I hadn't thought about, and I started to get hesitant. I'm definitely feeling the pressure of the situation.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Just trying to figure out in real time what questions they're asking are ones that I want to answer versus where do I say, no, I'm not helping you anymore.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
They really wanted me to set up another interview, or at least have another conversation with him on the phone, this time being on tape, to help them catch him.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
If a journalist sells out a source and it gets out that they did that, then it would damage media operations everywhere by making it harder for reporters to get people to trust them.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
What if he burns down another house and this time somebody gets hurt or killed? What if, like, an undercover cop sees him in the act and he shoots him to get away?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
All these questions you're asking about why didn't your editors, you know, help you more in this? It's good questions. It's just ones I never really thought of until now. And I'm like, yeah, well, why didn't they?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
At the end of the interview, they said, there's a $76,000 reward, an anonymous reward, for information leading to the arsonist's capture. And they said, you can still be the journalist hero while being an actual hero and help us catch him. Nobody needs to know that you helped us.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
— Now, at the time, I was making $30K a year and had over $20K in student loan debt at 8% interest, because that's what the 90s were like.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
It was a bit of a rabble-rousing, controversial paper. It was like this counterweight to the city's conservative daily paper, the Arizona Republic.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Every morning I would wake up with this pit in my stomach.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I remember being at a party when I first moved there, and I was trying to make friends, and I struck up a conversation with this guy, and when he found out where I worked, he was like, oh, that's a very liberal publication, and then turned around and walked away.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I would cover, like, the world's loudest car radio convention, or profile a 14-year-old kid who was in a street gang, or I would do a story on the Scottsdale prostitution scene, and then do a story about this subculture where people were suspending themselves from meat hooks.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
But this guy was public enemy number one. He was like the roadrunner zipping around the Arizona desert.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The arsonists had already been covered in the Daily Paper and the other publications a ton.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The editors had the idea of, let's do a story about how some people were rooting for this guy, like a folk hero, something different than the coverage that had been out there.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I remember being only mildly interested.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
This guy was the scariest editor I ever knew.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
When this guy looked at you with his, like, icy blue eyes, you're like, has this guy ever killed somebody and gotten away with it? Maybe.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The meticulously executed attacks, impassioned ideological messages, and comically baffled collection of law enforcement officials are almost enough to make you root for the arsonist.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
No, I don't think setting fires is an okay way to protest bourbon sprawl, or really anything for that matter. If your argument requires you to blow up something to make your point, how good is your argument really?
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
We got a few angry letters, a few angry calls. That wasn't seemingly a big deal until we got the letter from the arsonist.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
They saw an opportunity to get unprecedented insight into these fires, which was inherently newsworthy. This was, for that city at that time, a scoop as big as they came.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He came up with the idea of putting my office phone number on the cover of next week's issue, along with the message, to thou shall not.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
We ran the message in this little box at the top corner of the cover.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
I would explain it by saying things like, oh, it's just a typo, even though that doesn't make any sense. And then I got the call. He said, I got your message. James sits bolt upright in his chair. That was when I started to realize this is turning into a big deal. It was very weird. He seemed super casual, like just kind of in a good mood and chatty, but also arrogant and high in his own supply.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He sounded like a youngish to middle, lower middle age business professional. He sounded like a guy on his lunch hour at an office just chatting about the weather.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He wanted to set the record straight. And he also said, and this will be important later, that a North Phoenix Preserve unit was forming in his group.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Here are the conditions. Be at Patriot Square Park, downtown Phoenix, 11 a.m. in two days. No tape recorders, no photographers. Come alone, sit anywhere, and read a copy of the Burn Baby Burns story. and then we'll see what happens.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
There are cops all over. There are media news trucks parked along the street.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Hermey thought that if he did show up, that the cops would swoop in and arrest us both. James is sitting on a park bench.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Burn, baby, burn. It's not like I showed up packing a weapon or anything crazy. I just went there, opened the copy of the paper like he asked, and waited. Are you scared? I was more excited than nervous. I was bummed I wouldn't have a tape recorder because I'd have to be writing in longhand and scribbling all the answers. But James knows exactly what he wants to find out.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
If you're picturing something like from a movie where everyone kind of gathers in an office and they shut the door and hunker over this letter like it's from the Zodiac Killer, that's pretty much what it was like. They're crowded around a table, reading a letter. At the top of the letter was, Thou shall not desecrate God's creation.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
How he was getting away with this and why he was doing this.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
No, no. I mean, now that you're mentioning it, they probably should have instead of shoving their youngest reporter out into the middle of a park to meet with an arsonist.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
There was definitely that heightened feeling and I was also skeptical that he'd actually show up. All of a sudden, this guy comes up and sits next to me. He's got these like big Bono sunglasses on, hat on, track suit on. It's not exactly the outfit you'd expect from an eco-warrior. You picture somebody who's like young and scruffy and looks like they're living out of a van.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
This guy is tall, middle-aged, and athletic. He was very energetic, almost wired. And he asked whether I had seen the paper that morning.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
Then I remembered that on the phone call, he had teased that a North Phoenix unit of his movement was forming.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
The guy said, you know, call rural Metro and ask about the two notes that were left behind that hadn't been reported yet.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
And he also said the timing of the fire was not coincidental.
The Binge Crimes: Finding Mom's Killer
The Arsonist Next Door | 3: The Big Scoop
He said, you know, we thought that setting that fire would be a good-faith effort to establish our credibility.