John Orr: Difference between revisions

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{{Mature}}{{Villain_Infobox

|Box title = John Orr

|~~Image~~ = John Orr.jpg

|image = John Orr.jpg

|fullname = John Leonard Orr

|alias = The Pillow Pyro The Coin Tosser The Frito Bandito<ref>[[Firebug http://truth.media/firebug]]</ref>

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|occupation = Firefighter (formerly) Arson Investigator (formerly)

|hobby = Setting fires deliberately

|goals = To become a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (failed) Become a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department (failed) Become a firefighter for the Glendale Fire Department (succeeded) Get high praise (somewhat succeeded until he got arrested for arson)

|goals = To become a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (failed) Become a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department (failed) Become a firefighter for the Glendale Fire Department (succeeded) Get high praise (somewhat succeeded until he got arrested for arson) Prove that a majority of suspicious fires were set deliberately (succeeded until being caught)

|crimes = ~~Mass~~ [[~~murder~~]] [[Arson]]

|crimes = [[Murder]] [[Arson]]

|type of villain = Sadistic Pyromaniac

}}

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=== Criminal activities ===

On October 10th, 1984, a fire broke out in an Ole's Home Center, ~~which was an arts and crafts type of~~ store in South Pasadena, California killing four people including a two year old child and his grandmother. The fire was at first deemed accidental, but Orr stated that the fire was set on purpose.

On October 10th, 1984, a fire broke out in an Ole's Home Center, a hardware store in South Pasadena, California killing four people including a two year old child and his grandmother. The fire was at first deemed accidental, but Orr stated that the fire was set on purpose.

In order to set the fires, Orr used an incendiary device by using a sheet of paper and wrapping the paper around rubber bands, matches and a cigarette in order to make an escape before the fire broke out. He commonly started fires in fabric sections of stores, especially pillows thus earning the nickname The Pillow Pyro.

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The following year in 1990, John started a fire in the College Hills section above Glendale which took out multiple homes and acres.

In 1991, Casey sent the evidence to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for another examination. Head ATF Agent Mike Matassa headed the investigation. The fingerprint did not match any of the investigators who attended any of the conferences. However, a match was found when Casey obtained a copy of attendee fingerprints that were found in the Los Angeles Police Department's fingerprint database.

In 1991, Casey sent the evidence to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for another examination. Head ATF Agent Mike Matassa headed the investigation. The fingerprint did not match any of the investigators who attended any of the conferences. However, a match was found when Casey obtained a copy of attendee fingerprints that were found in the Los Angeles Police Department's fingerprint database. The fingerprint matched to John Orr.

=== Arrest ===

In April of 1991, prosecutors put a tracking device under his car in order to find his whereabouts and arrest him. However, the first attempt failed when John found the device under his car after he noticed the wires of the tracker dropped out. Prosecutors tried again in late 1991 and on December 4th, 1991, John was finally arrested on multiple counts of arson <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-mn-608-story.html Glendale Fire Investigator Charged in 3 Store Blazes : Crime: Head of arson unit wrote novel about a firefighter who sets blazes. Other fires are under review.]</ref> During his arrest, ATF agents found a manuscript for a book he was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' which is based somewhat on the real fires he had started including the fire that he started in 1984. John even shot videos of the fires he started and took photos at the 1984 fire in order to relive the events in the same way serial killers relive the events by photographing their crime victims or activities. In 1994, John received additional charges including charges for the deadly 1984 fire that killed four people in South Pasadena. John was sentenced to life in California State Prison with no chance of parole in 1998 after being presented with evidence by Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral. <ref>[https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/john-leonard-orr/ John Leonard Orr]</ref> Despite all of the crimes he committed, John continues to maintain his innocence. After his arrest, the number of brushfires in Southern California declined dramatically.

In April of 1991, prosecutors put a tracking device under his car in order to find his whereabouts and arrest him. However, the first attempt failed when John found the device under his car after he noticed the wires of the tracker dropped out. Prosecutors tried again in late 1991 and on December 4th, 1991, John was finally arrested on multiple counts of arson <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-mn-608-story.html Glendale Fire Investigator Charged in 3 Store Blazes : Crime: Head of arson unit wrote novel about a firefighter who sets blazes. Other fires are under review.]</ref> During his arrest, ATF agents found a manuscript for a book he was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' which is based somewhat on the real fires he had started including the fire that he started in 1984. John even shot videos of the fires he started and took photos at the 1984 fire in order to relive the events in the same way serial killers relive the events by photographing their crime victims or activities. In 1994, John received additional charges including charges for the deadly 1984 fire that killed four people in South Pasadena. John was sentenced to life in California State Prison with no chance of parole in 1998 after being presented with evidence by Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral. <ref>[https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/john-leonard-orr/ John Leonard Orr]</ref> Despite all of the crimes he committed, John continues to maintain his innocence. After his arrest, the number of brushfires in Southern California declined dramatically. According to former District Attorney Michael Cabral, John set about 2,000 fires.

==Victims==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="white-space:nowrap;"

|-

! Name

! Sex

! Age

! Date of death

|-

| Jimmy Cetina

| M

| 17

| rowspan="4" | October 10, 1984

|-

| Ada Deal

| F

| 52

|-

| Carolyn Kraus

| F

| 26

|-

| Matthew Troidl

| M

| 2

|}

== Quotes ==

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*Crime author and former Los Angeles Police Department officer Joseph Wambaugh published a book about John Orr titled ''Fire Lover'' named after a quote from the book where a fictional firefighter arsonist named Aaron Stiles (which is an anagram for I set LA arson) in a book John was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' (mentioned earlier) where the character of Aaron Stiles referred to fire as a mistress and lover.

*Years after the fires he set broke out, HBO made a made for television film titled ''Point of Origin'' based on his true story starring Ray Liotta as John Orr. There have also been various documentaries about him featured on ''Nova'' in the episode ''Hunt for the Serial Arsonist'' (aired in November 1995), ''Forensic Files'', ''Cold Case Files'', ''Unusual Suspects'', ''Deadly Secrets'' and most recently on ''Very Scary People''.

*Years after the fires he set broke out, HBO made a made for television film titled ''Point of Origin'' based on his true story starring the late Ray Liotta as John Orr. There have also been various documentaries about him featured on ''Nova'' in the episode ''Hunt for the Serial Arsonist'' (aired in November 1995), ''Forensic Files'', ''Cold Case Files'', ''Unusual Suspects'', ''Deadly Secrets'' and most recently on ''Very Scary People''.

==External links==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Mature}}{{Villain_Infobox
 |Box title = John Orr
-|Image = John Orr.jpg
+|image = John Orr.jpg
 |fullname = John Leonard Orr
 |alias = The Pillow Pyro<br>The Coin Tosser<br>The Frito Bandito<ref>[[Firebug http://truth.media/firebug]]</ref>
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 |occupation = Firefighter (formerly) <br> Arson Investigator (formerly)
 |hobby = Setting fires deliberately
-|goals = To become a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (failed)<br>Become a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department (failed)<br>Become a firefighter for the Glendale Fire Department (succeeded)<br>Get high praise (somewhat succeeded until he got arrested for arson)
+|goals = To become a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (failed)<br>Become a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department (failed)<br>Become a firefighter for the Glendale Fire Department (succeeded)<br>Get high praise (somewhat succeeded until he got arrested for arson)<br>Prove that a majority of suspicious fires were set deliberately (succeeded until being caught)
-|crimes = Mass [[murder]]<br>[[Arson]]
+|crimes = [[Murder]]<br>[[Arson]]
 |type of villain = Sadistic Pyromaniac
 }}
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 === Criminal activities ===
-On October 10<sup>th</sup>, 1984, a fire broke out in an Ole's Home Center, which was an arts and crafts type of store in South Pasadena, California killing four people including a two year old child and his grandmother. The fire was at first deemed accidental, but Orr stated that the fire was set on purpose.
+On October 10<sup>th</sup>, 1984, a fire broke out in an Ole's Home Center, a hardware store in South Pasadena, California killing four people including a two year old child and his grandmother. The fire was at first deemed accidental, but Orr stated that the fire was set on purpose.
 In order to set the fires, Orr used an incendiary device by using a sheet of paper and wrapping the paper around rubber bands, matches and a cigarette in order to make an escape before the fire broke out. He commonly started fires in fabric sections of stores, especially pillows thus earning the nickname The Pillow Pyro.
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 The following year in 1990, John started a fire in the College Hills section above Glendale which took out multiple homes and acres.
-In 1991, Casey sent the evidence to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for another examination. Head ATF Agent Mike Matassa headed the investigation. The fingerprint did not match any of the investigators who attended any of the conferences. However, a match was found when Casey obtained a copy of attendee fingerprints that were found in the Los Angeles Police Department's fingerprint database.
+In 1991, Casey sent the evidence to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for another examination. Head ATF Agent Mike Matassa headed the investigation. The fingerprint did not match any of the investigators who attended any of the conferences. However, a match was found when Casey obtained a copy of attendee fingerprints that were found in the Los Angeles Police Department's fingerprint database. The fingerprint matched to John Orr.
 === Arrest ===
-In April of 1991, prosecutors put a tracking device under his car in order to find his whereabouts and arrest him. However, the first attempt failed when John found the device under his car after he noticed the wires of the tracker dropped out. Prosecutors tried again in late 1991 and on December 4<sup>th</sup>, 1991, John was finally arrested on multiple counts of arson <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-mn-608-story.html Glendale Fire Investigator Charged in 3 Store Blazes : Crime: Head of arson unit wrote novel about a firefighter who sets blazes. Other fires are under review.]</ref> During his arrest, ATF agents found a manuscript for a book he was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' which is based somewhat on the real fires he had started including the fire that he started in 1984. John even shot videos of the fires he started and took photos at the 1984 fire in order to relive the events in the same way serial killers relive the events by photographing their crime victims or activities. In 1994, John received additional charges including charges for the deadly 1984 fire that killed four people in South Pasadena. John was sentenced to life in California State Prison with no chance of parole in 1998 after being presented with evidence by Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral. <ref>[https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/john-leonard-orr/ John Leonard Orr]</ref> Despite all of the crimes he committed, John continues to maintain his innocence. After his arrest, the number of brushfires in Southern California declined dramatically.
+In April of 1991, prosecutors put a tracking device under his car in order to find his whereabouts and arrest him. However, the first attempt failed when John found the device under his car after he noticed the wires of the tracker dropped out. Prosecutors tried again in late 1991 and on December 4<sup>th</sup>, 1991, John was finally arrested on multiple counts of arson <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-mn-608-story.html Glendale Fire Investigator Charged in 3 Store Blazes : Crime: Head of arson unit wrote novel about a firefighter who sets blazes. Other fires are under review.]</ref> During his arrest, ATF agents found a manuscript for a book he was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' which is based somewhat on the real fires he had started including the fire that he started in 1984. John even shot videos of the fires he started and took photos at the 1984 fire in order to relive the events in the same way serial killers relive the events by photographing their crime victims or activities. In 1994, John received additional charges including charges for the deadly 1984 fire that killed four people in South Pasadena. John was sentenced to life in California State Prison with no chance of parole in 1998 after being presented with evidence by Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral. <ref>[https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/john-leonard-orr/ John Leonard Orr]</ref> Despite all of the crimes he committed, John continues to maintain his innocence. After his arrest, the number of brushfires in Southern California declined dramatically. According to former District Attorney Michael Cabral, John set about 2,000 fires.
+==Victims==
+{| class="wikitable sortable" style="white-space:nowrap;"
+|-
+! Name
+! Sex
+! Age
+! Date of death
+|-
+| Jimmy Cetina
+| M
+| 17
+| rowspan="4" | October 10, 1984
+|-
+| Ada Deal
+| F
+| 52
+|-
+| Carolyn Kraus
+| F
+| 26
+|-
+| Matthew Troidl
+| M
+| 2
+|}
 == Quotes ==
@@ Line 57: / Line 83: @@
 *Crime author and former Los Angeles Police Department officer Joseph Wambaugh published a book about John Orr titled ''Fire Lover'' named after a quote from the book where a fictional firefighter arsonist named Aaron Stiles (which is an anagram for I set LA arson) in a book John was writing titled ''Points of Origin'' (mentioned earlier) where the character of Aaron Stiles referred to fire as a mistress and lover.
-*Years after the fires he set broke out, HBO made a made for television film titled ''Point of Origin'' based on his true story starring Ray Liotta as John Orr. There have also been various documentaries about him featured on ''Nova'' in the episode ''Hunt for the Serial Arsonist'' (aired in November 1995), ''Forensic Files'', ''Cold Case Files'', ''Unusual Suspects'', ''Deadly Secrets'' and most recently on ''Very Scary People''.
+*Years after the fires he set broke out, HBO made a made for television film titled ''Point of Origin'' based on his true story starring the late Ray Liotta as John Orr. There have also been various documentaries about him featured on ''Nova'' in the episode ''Hunt for the Serial Arsonist'' (aired in November 1995), ''Forensic Files'', ''Cold Case Files'', ''Unusual Suspects'', ''Deadly Secrets'' and most recently on ''Very Scary People''.
 ==External links==