12clicks

Around 4:15 a.m., on June 30, 1986, in Columbus Grove, Ohio, a raging fire broke out in Hope Collins's second-floor apartment, killing Cynthia Collins, Hope's two-year-old daughter. Less than an hour before, Hope had left her apartment with a convicted drug dealer. When she returned after the fire, she faced prosecution for child abandonment. She then said Richey had agreed to baby-sit Cynthia.
The prosecution alleged that Richey was angry at his ex-girlfriend, Candy Barchet, and her new boyfriend, so he allegedly set fire to the apartment above theirs, hoping the fire would burn through the concrete floor and injure them while they slept. The prosecution advanced this theory even though they seemed to agree that Richey knew that Cynthia Collins was sleeping in that apartment. During the fire, Richey had risked his life trying to rescue Cynthia, so his alleged actions do not make sense.
Richey, Hope, Peggy Price, Candy Barchet, Richey's ex-girlfriend, and a variety of other witnesses to these events lived at the Old Farm Village Apartments in Columbus Grove. Peggy and Hope lived in adjacent second-floor apartments, and Candy lived directly below Hope. All three apartments were in Building or Section "A" at Old Farm Village. Candy and her infant son moved into their apartment around June 15, and she met Richey. Within a few days, Candy and Richey formed a sexual relationship, and Richey frequently told Candy he loved her and "would kill any other guys" she was with.
On June 24, Richey learned that Candy had just been in bed with John Butler, and Richey pulled a knife on Butler. In response, Butler "bounced him around the room a little bit." Just after that fracas, Richey broke his hand by punching a door, requiring a splint.
On Sunday evening, June 29, Candy took her new boyfriend, Mike Nichols, to a party in Peggy's apartment; during the party, Candy kissed Nichols openly and told Richey that she wanted to date Nichols. Testimony at the trial indicated that Richey became upset at this news, according to other accounts the three discussed and Kenny accepted the fact. When Candy went home, around 1:00 a.m., she asked Nichols to spend the night with her, which he did.
That night, Richey wore his Marine Corps camouflage fatigues and combat boots, and he still had his right hand bandaged in a splint. Some witnesses reported Richey was intoxicated. Jeffrey Kezar testified he heard Richey saying, "If I can't have her (Candy), nobody else can." However, what was said exactly, when it was said, and in what context remains strongly disputed.
Richey told several persons that "A" Building would burn that night and he would use his Marine training to do that. Robert Dannenberger described Richey as "very upset" and said Richey threatened to blow the place up since he had "learned how to do explosives" in the Marines. Peggy Price became upset, and Richey told her, "Well, instead of blowing it up, I'll torch A Section." Price recalled that Richey said, "Before the night is over, part of A Building is going to burn down." Shirley Baker also recalls Richey saying, "A Building was going to burn * * *." Juanita Altimus, while just outside her own apartment, overheard Richey say on the landing, "Building A was going to burn tonight."
Curiously, the alleged statements about the building burning imply a somewhat pointless motive instead of the proffered one against Richey's ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Whether true or not, vague statements are characteristic of perjured testimony. Individuals who lie on the stand typically do not want to get caught and will only readily make statements they can back away from. One witness, Peggy Villearreal, later denied her testimony that she heard such a statement. Richey denied making such statements and thought it was stupid that he would make them if he intended to do what the prosecution alleged.
By 2:00 a.m., the party was breaking up, and Richey kept asking Hope if he could spend the night on her sofa. Hope refused. Around 2:20 a.m., June 30, Richey offered to steal some flowers for Peggy from a greenhouse across the street, but Peggy told Richey not to bring them to her.
Between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m., Dennis Smith drove up and asked Hope to go with him. Hope replied she did not have a baby-sitter, but Richey said, "Well, I'll keep an eye on her (Cynthia), if you'll let me sleep on your couch." A neighbor also overheard Hope say to Richey, "Go upstairs with Scootie (Cynthia's nickname) -- she's asleep -- but don't lock the door because I can't get back in because I don't have a key."
Around 4:15 a.m., neighbors reported bright orange flames and smoke coming out of the Collins apartment, and the fire department responded. Firemen saw several feet of flames from the apartment and deck curl up over the roof. A resident and a fireman both started into the apartment, but the heat and fire were too intense. A fireman then went back in, with oxygen, but he could not find Cynthia and soon ran out of oxygen.
Ultimately, several firemen, with fire hoses and oxygen masks, succeeded in removing Cynthia's body from her burning bedroom. Cynthia died from asphyxia related to smoke inhalation.
When the firemen arrived, Richey was either at the Collins apartment or he arrived shortly thereafter; he was screaming that a child was still inside. One fireman saw him coming out of the apartment, helped him up, and had to restrain him to keep him from going back in. Richey was combative, argumentative, and interfered with efforts to fight the fire and rescue Cynthia. Two deputy sheriffs overpowered Richey and turned him over to Police Chief Thomas Miller to keep him out of the way.
During the fire, Richey asked Nichols, "Why don't we finish it now, since you think you're so bad?" Richey also asked Candy if the fire had scared her. When she replied it had, Richey told her, "if he couldn't have me, that nobody would * * *." Altimus reported that Richey, as he looked over the fire damage, drank a beer, laughed, and said, "It looks like I did a helluva good job, don't it."
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case isn't based on bad forensics.

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