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It's 3:30 a.m. in a neighborhood in the city of Akran. CCTV records a man in a jumpsuit walking up to a house. Seconds
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later, what could only be a nightmare begins. 911. I got a fire going on avenue. It's fully
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engulfed. I think there's people in the house. It's man. I can feel a beat. The lights are going
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out. It's burning quick, man. If somebody's in there, they're dead, man. As the flames engulf the house, the
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mysterious man [music] disappears into the night, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
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Oh my god, hurry. Hurry, please. Oh Jesus, the whole house is on fire. As authorities were called to
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investigate, they had no idea what they were stepping into. This would only be the beginning of a series of fatal fires
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set by a vicious, cold-blooded killer, and detectives would soon find themselves racing against the clock as a
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serial arsonist hunts for his next victims. The night of April 17th, 2016 was uneventful for 66-year-old Lindell
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Lewis. He had just gone through a hip replacement surgery and was resting at his home on 719 Fault Street, being
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looked after by Gloria Gene Hart, his girlfriend at the time. However, this night would be different. This night
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would plunge the once peaceful city of Akran into sheer terror. In the early hours of April 18th, close to 3:33 a.m.
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CCTV footage captured a man walking in the direction that led directly to Lindell's house. And moments later,
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tragedy would strike the house of Lindel Lewis. Because he was in a hurry to escape, this first attempt at setting
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the house on fire had failed and the flames died out, prompting the arsonist to make a return for a second time to
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make sure he finished the job. At around 3:40 a.m., at approximately 3 [music] minutes after this second round of
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dousing the house with what appears to be gasoline, a raging fire would swallow up the entirety of Lindell's house. This
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was an early Monday morning and most people in Lane Worcester neighborhood were asleep preparing for work. No one
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would have been awake to see who this masked arsonist was. More importantly, whoever this was was well aware of
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Lindell's hip surgery as it had made him wheelchair ridden and unable to move. This meant that the fire was started
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knowing that he would never be able to escape. And soon enough, 911 calls would begin pouring in as the fire raged on.
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911. This is 7:25 next door. I can feel a beast. The lights are going out. It's burning quick, man. If somebody's in
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there, they're dead, man. Get up there real quick. Hey, they're on their way. Presumably, Lindell and his girlfriend
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were sleeping in their bedroom on the upper floor of the house when the fire initially began. Since the masked
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arsonist ensured that the fire spread from the ground floor, this meant that by the time they woke up, because of the
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heat and crackling of the fire, they had no escape. especially because Lindell was unable to move by himself. Gloria
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most likely helped Lindell move from the bed and the couple retreated to their bedroom in an attempt to get as far away
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as possible. But all this did was delay the inevitable. As firefighters and EMS arrived at the scene, the elderly couple
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was heard screaming for help from inside their bathroom. Even with desperate [music] attempts to save them, it was
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far too late. This gasoline fire was far too violent and the smoke was far too thick. Gloria Gene Hart and Lindell
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Lewis were pronounced dead by the time they were discovered. A tragedy like this was unheard of in
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Akran. Not only because of the fact that there was now an arsonist on the loose,
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but because no one knew who his next victim would be. Because as it turns out, Lindell and Gloria were only two of
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his nine victims to come. The hunt for this masked murderer was on, and soon enough, detectives had a lead. During
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the night this fire occurred, the suspect had fled in this direction immediately after his second attempt.
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This meant that whoever this was lived in this general vicinity. And considering this, the very first suspect
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would be Stanley Ford. Stanley was a peculiar man. He often claimed to be a guardian sent by God and
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would spend his days sleeping so he could stay awake at night to watch over the neighborhood. Additionally, Stanley
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was also Lindell's neighbor, and the two had spent many years living next to each
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other. This is why officers were certain that Stanley would react with sorrow when informed of Lindell's death. But
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when a call was made telling him of the tragedy, something was off. I was calling to follow up with you about the
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fire across the street. You know, because of the tumultuous history that you and the people in Lindell's house
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had, everybody is thinking you, right? No, Tanisha, listen to me once again. I do not mess with these people up here. I
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them them guys tried to get me to come on engage with them. Them guys was nasty. They was They had prostitutes in
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and out all night. They was dealing with homosexuality. Them people was just bad
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people. I didn't do nothing to them people. Them people were just mean. I mean, listen here. When they moved up
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here, Tanisha, they stole everything that wasn't voted down. Well, Mr. Ford, this is my concern.
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What's your concern? Is it how to make people believe that it wasn't you, Tanisha? You either take my word or you
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don't. That's all I can tell. Well, we do have another option. What's that? A polygraph. [music]
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Suspiciously, not only did Stanley refuse a polygraph test, but officers believed his reaction to be endorsing
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Lindell's death rather than mourning it. This was likely because of a low in the
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two's relationship that stemmed from their arguments about property boundaries and maintenance. However, in
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all fairness, this case was not limited to Lindell alone. In fact, Stanley was infamous for often disputing with
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neighbors when it came to property boundaries. All things considered, Stanley was only seen as a weird and
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obnoxious neighbor rather than someone [music] who would burn a house down. For now, at least, he was not the most
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prominent suspect. As detectives began to believe that the one responsible for this fire may have been someone inside
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Lindell's house. The night the fire occurred, Lindell and Gloria were not the only ones in the
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house. Thomas Huggley and Garrett were two of Lindell's friends who were going through tough times due to financial
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constraints. [music] Lindell was kind enough to offer the two of them a place in the basement of his home.
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Fortunately, Thomas escaped [music] before the fire could swallow up the basement. But Garrett, on the other
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hand, just so happened to be somewhere else that night. By April 22nd, 2016, Akran detectives would call in Garrett
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for an interview to find out what really happened. First, let me say that I hate having to
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put you out there like that. [clears throat] Like all that was terrible. You guys, that's my first language. But
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I was worried because they said you live down there and I hadn't seen or heard from you, so I waited.
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Yeah, I was there. I was there. Uh earlier that day cuz I was over my auntie's house did a job for her.
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Mhm. What's her name? Uh uh [ __ ] Uh Williams. I forgot her last name. She works across the street.
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Okay. Now I ain't trying to, you know, stir your brain cuz the main reason I where I want to find you, make sure one
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you safe and you okay? And if I I didn't know nothing about it until uh my sister then called me.
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Mhm. And Mr. Uli called me and what what did they say? They said the house burning down, but
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they didn't tell me nothing about nobody got hurt in it. Mhm. And then my best friend.
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For detectives, it is definitely odd that Garrett is taking so long to remember the finer details, but this is
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nothing conclusive as of now. However, they are confident that by poking deeper, they might be able to find some
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clues. Have you heard about anybody who got to be for him? Oh, uh, no. Not that I know of.
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Now, what was that thought you just had? Never that I know. Nobody know. That don't seem like the truth. It seem
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like you choking on the truth RIGHT NOW. I SAID, "OH, I don't know, man. Cuz I didn't know the people he knew."
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Not It's obvious you just had a thought. Do you just not want to speak cuz all of
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us in here? Or No, you not want to speak cuz you HAD THE POLICE. YOU DEFINITELY HAD A THOUGHT RIGHT
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THERE. All I know is they supposed to have a a retraining order in that guy because the tree, you know, stand
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something. That's all I knew. Stanley's name has once again crept into the conversation. In fact, rumors about
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Lindell and Stanley's conflicts had already spread like wildfire, and he was on his way to becoming suspect number
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one. But for detectives, this could mean anything. Stanley would alternatively be
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the most suitable for Garrett to pin his crimes on, a neighbor with a god complex
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who had frequent conflicts with Lindell. Furthermore, Garrett has not given any details about his alibi. All we know is
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that during the night of the fire, he was at his aunt's house and was spending time with his niece. This is why
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detectives would not let up putting pressure on Garrett. You're the only person that a gave a
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scenario and that kind of made me suspicious. scenario of of anything that you might have heard
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or thought. You're the only one. But I don't I don't know nothing. I wasn't there.
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I would I KNOW YOU WEREN'T THERE. I would have been there in a couple days. You you you weren't there, but you're
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the only one. All right, let's do it this way. The night of the fire, the night that
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happened, I was at my least house. What time did you get there? I don't know what time we got there.
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Was it light outside or was it dark? I don't know. We're investigated. What can I say?
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We was Who were you with? Me and my niece. And what time did you leave there? The next day, I think.
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What time did the fire happened? I don't know. Tell me it was 3:00 in the morning. I
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don't know. Let me ask you this question. Would you go to the funeral today? Yes.
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Yes. You know what time it is? It's probably 10:00. That's what you say. I'm going to say this. I'm just going to
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go on straight with you. But I the the gut feeling I got is that you have some names swirling in
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your head you just don't want to give them cuz you don't want to get I don't know him
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right I don't know them people socialize with them people we need your help we're asking for your
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help I know I understand that I just don't really know much man but man they protected me when I on the football
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field ID you down and they they made it happen for me. They say we hold you down, too. Oh my god,
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they was good guys. For detectives, this was perplexing. A suspect that was willing to cry for his
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dead friend and housemate, yet had no solid story for where he was on that day, created a contradicting situation.
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No matter what, detectives cannot be certain that Garrett is the arsonist. So they would slowly push him towards a
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polygraph test, claiming it's the only way to prove his innocence. Let's see if we can't get sucker but to
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come in and schedule a polygraph. Okay. I'll call you and he got we got a polygraph here. We're going to bring him
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in here and he's going to schedule it with you. Set up an appointment. Oh my god. This [music]
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I'm about to have a [ __ ] dinner. Listen, man. We're trying to help here. We're not
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I know I if I can help you out with it. Well, if you need to get some off your chest and let let us know something that
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you know you will feel a whole lot better cuz you are our key to the information ABOUT WHO'S
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Y'ALL on me. I was because you lived in the house for 2 years. Yeah, but I was never there on
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this. And you're saying that you don't know or have heard anything about it? I was not going over the years.
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The car fire happened in 2013 and you were in the house. You have no clue of who may have started.
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You say nobody gave any names? No. No scenarios, no theories, no nothing. It's just not plausible, sir.
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I mean, that that's that just goes on in all conversation. Who do you think did this? I don't know.
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Even though Garrett just agreed to the polygraph, just moments later, he would have second thoughts.
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Mr. Garrett is our father. He's You're saying you want to take a polygraph? Well, take a photography.
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You just said you would. You said while we at it, let me take a photograph. I didn't say that.
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I said I would if I said I would if I needed to. [clears throat] It's coming down to a knee.
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All right. Yes, sir. Yes, it is. Okay. Go ahead and talk to the sergeant here. He'll explain. I mean, is that something
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that you'd be willing to do is take a polygraph? No. That ain't working. Why are they Why is
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that working like that? You follow? Usually, suspects are never legally obligated to undergo a polygraph test.
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Even if they did, these tests are not presentable in court due to a lack of accuracy and reliability since results
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are affected by several factors like anxiety and mental and physical health. And with Garrett's insistence that he is
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innocent and was not at Lindell's house often, detectives are stuck with no other suspects. Their only remaining
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choice was Stanley Ford, the self-proclaimed neighborhood guardian. But at this point, this was more of a
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gut feeling for detectives as they could not put up a plausible case against him
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for an arrest. In their eyes, many suspects were just as suspicious as Stanley, if not more. This meant the Ark
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and arsonist was still on the loose [music] and maybe these investigations had scared him because things seemed to
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settle [music] down. For the entirety of 2016, there were no more fires and most
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began to forget about the incident. However, this piece would soon come to an end. On January 23rd, 2017, someone
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set fire to a vehicle on 723 Russell Avenue, just a few blocks away from the first fire. The next two months would be
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another wave of silence from the arsonist until May 15th, 2017, when close to 3:00 a.m., Lane Worcester
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neighborhood was given another rude awakening. Multiple people are dead after a house fire in [music] Akran this
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morning and at least some were children. The Akran Fire Department says the home
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was fully engulfed when they arrived. The heat was so high a staircase [music] melted away. The exact number of victims
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has not been released. A fire on 693 False Avenue had resulted in the death of seven people.
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35-year-old Dennis Huggin and 38-year-old Angela Bogs, along with their five children, aged [music]
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between 16 months and 14 years. This was the second major fire after the Lindell
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home was burned to a crisp 13 months prior. The fire had started in trash cans placed at the front of the house
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and spread [music] quickly through the porch into the home. However, this was no accident. According to a forensic
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analysis, an accelerant identified as gasoline was dumped into the cans. The flames were intense and enveloped the
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house within seconds. There was no room for escape. And just like the first fire, all seven victims were found
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huddled [music] in corners of the home as they had been trapped by the smoke and flames. The bodies had [music] been
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burned so badly that the only way to identify them was through a DNA test. This was a tragedy, but compared to the
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first fire, finding the suspect this time wouldn't be hard, as there were only two options. The first was Patrick
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Bogs, who had a bit of history with Angela Bogs, the mother of the children in this fire. Patrick Bogs served 12
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years in prison for dowsing Angela and kerosene [music] and threatening to set her on fire in 2001. He was a violent
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man and had even tried to stab someone, making him a very plausible suspect. But
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even with his past, Patrick was quickly discarded as cameras provided he had never left his home in Ohio. More
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importantly, an extensive [music] polygraph test proved that Patrick was telling the truth about not being
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involved in this crime. However, his role in these murders wouldn't end here, as we'd later find out. For now, the
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only remaining suspect was a familiar face, one that was a common denominator in both fires, Stanley Ford. And this
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time, officers were prepared to gather a mountain of evidence against him. They treat me like I'm a suspect, man.
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I'm not a suspect. The first step was to obtain a search warrant for Stanley's home, which would
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result in a crucial piece of evidence being found. Worn out tennis shoes that had been covered in an accelerant. An
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accelerant that just so happened to be gasoline. But the evidence wouldn't end here. One of the detectives would decide
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to have a one-on-one conversation with Stanley in his car. And what he says would be nothing short of disturbing.
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Sound [ __ ] deal. No, listen. Listen what I'm saying to you. This is so wrong. Listen what I'm saying
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to you. Embarrassing to my neighbor. Listen what I'm saying. You mentioned some things last night
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about there some bad people at the house or Well, to to me, I thought they was bad
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people. They the stuff they was just doing immature stuff in the neighborhood like what
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[ __ ] uh kicking the uh vehicles rearview mirrors busting them out and stuff like
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that. Is that a good way to get rid of somebody moving out the neighborhood and get rid of that?
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No, I would I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do it like that. Why would I do that? I wouldn't do it at all. I ain't
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going to set somebody on fire just to to get them out of the neighborhood. That's that that that ain't that ain't
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that ain't godly, man. That ain't I don't know that that ain't human nature. Really? Yeah,
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that's evil. That's pure evil. Man, I'm not evil, man. Yet another instance of Stanley Ford
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justifying not only the deaths of the couple, but of their five innocent little children, too. Just like in the
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murder of Lindell Lewis, there was a pattern, a pattern of pure hatred towards the victims. A pattern so
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disgusting that Stanley felt it was his god-given right to purge [music] anyone who upset the guardian of the
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neighborhood. In this case, Stanley often accused the family of dealing drugs, damaging his property, and
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engaging in illegal activities, which only fueled his hatred towards them. Several neighbors had witnessed heated
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exchanges between the couple and Stanley leading up to the fire. Not only that, but the night of the fire, neighbors
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mentioned how they saw Stanley continuously patrolling the house. This would be corroborated by CCTV footage
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that would not only catch Stanley walking towards the house right before the fire, but also running away from it
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after. If all of this was not compelling enough, there would be one last piece of
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evidence that would solve the mystery of the Arkan arsonist. Take a look at this
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footage from the 2016 fire of Lindell's home. Now, matching this with the footage from the 2017 fire and matching
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both with the footage from when police spoke with Stanley in the neighborhood, there is one correlation. The way the
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suspect walks is exactly the same as Stanley's stride. Without a doubt, Stanley was the one responsible for the
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cold-blooded murders of nine people. Officers were now certain of this and soon enough Stanley was called in for an
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interview to be confronted with his sick crimes. We want to talk to you. I want you to be
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honest with me. Okay. This is [snorts] not about today. Let's go back to the fire.
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Okay. I mean, what can you tell us about the fire? I don't have no knowledge of that. So, what's the point? You know,
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sometime I explain to him, you know, I exercise some Charlie horses, right? Sometimes I walk the street and bang,
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you know what I mean? Something like that. But uh I ain't I ain't do that far, man. In the face of these denials,
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detectives decide that enough is enough. No matter what, they need a confession out of Stanley. And the best way to do
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that is to show him all the evidence that points towards him being the arsonist.
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Got you running back to the house. Mhm. That's diamond fire. Okay. We got you running to the house. You're not asleep.
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You are. You're on the cameras now. We got you. You're on the [laughter] camera. We got
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you. You're I It's time to come. It's time. It's time to come, man. Yeah, we know the answers. Okay. Right. But I
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ain't running from I running from no fire. Okay. You walk you you're seen you seen
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the fire. Okay. I'm not at the fire. No. No. No. I'm not at no fire. I'm at the fire. I'm at a fire.
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Yeah, you're at the fire. We need to hear your side of the story. I'm being honest, man. I [laughter]
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didn't do anything. I mean, I can't I can't get to somebody did that. I don't have I got too much to lose, man. We got
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all the pieces. We know the answers. This is what we want to know. Is there some
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reasoning or some kind of something that happened? Somebody piss you over. Somebody do something to maybe maybe why
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send a message I'm not walking there. I WOULD LET NOBODY walk back from the house. I didn't do that.
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Hell yeah. I'm tell you. Okay. Got you. Got you. Often a suspect will refute their crimes
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even in the presence of concrete evidence as this would still give them a fighting chance in court. In this case,
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Stanley is doing exactly this. And no matter what detectives say, he won't be cracking anytime soon. Y'all believe
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that I did it. No. We prove that you I didn't do that. I wouldn't dare to did that, man. How you want me to explain
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your charges to you or you [clears throat] didn't do it? I'm serious. I didn't do it. I'm not going
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to meant to that. I didn't do it. If I did, I meant to it. I didn't do that. Let me explain your charge. Go ahead.
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Okay. You have seven counts of aggravated murder. However, this would be far from the end of Stanley's saga.
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Because he never admitted to [music] anything and had a history of being mentally unstable, there was a chance
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that he could get away completely scot-free in court due to his mental status being absolved of all his crimes.
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Hence.