HURRICANE COUNTY UTAH POLICE DEPARTMENT INCIDENT REPORT FORM
Case Number: 07892 Registering Officer: Gillian Burke
Date: 03/08/1982 Incident Type: Arson
Details of event:
On the 8th of March 1982, the Hurricane County Shopping Precinct caught fire, destroying major sections of the building. At approximately 13:35, a mister Jacob Santos called the emergency number to report smoke from within the First Catholic Church, located in the west wing of the centre. At 13:39, the first officer on scene, Patrolman Ben Cain, found, quote, "Plumes of smoke and flame" to be rising from the building. Cain waited for backup, and a group of officers proceeded to evacuate the centre to the best of their ability until the Hurricane Fire Department arrived at 13:47. Upon arrival, captain Lucius Thompson led the fire team into the building, in order to control the fire. At 13:56, the west wing collapsed in on itself, and the firefighters retreated, having mostly contained the fire. Within the First Catholic Church, two casualties were located. The first was Pastor Louis Henderson, and the second was Mister Henry Emily. Emily was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the burnings being post-mortem. A further seven casualties were found. Four deaths occurred when the west wing collapsed, claiming the lives of four children who were within a restaurant at the time for the birthday party of one Chika Hannamura, who was one of the deceased. Furthermore, two police officers, patrolmen Dunn and Lyttle, died from third degree burns, and the final casualty, identified as eleven-year old Frederick Layton, was found behind the church, with strangle marks on his neck. Once again, the burns were post-mortem. The fire was ultimately extinguished at 14:46, and rescue teams had retrieved all of the bodies by 15:30. one survivor, a Mister Nick Philipson, stated in an interview that he saw "A well-built guy of around 5 foot six, holding a jerry can". Investigators have noted that the suspicious individual, who is currently considered to be the perpetrator, bears a physical resemblance to Henry Emily.
Summary:
In the wake of the fire, a total of nine deaths were incurred, and four storefronts within the centre were reduced to ashes. Investigators are acting under the assumption that Henry Emily was the man behind the perceived arson, and the possibility of it leading to an insurance fraud case is in the open. It should also be noted that Emily took out a life insurance policy of seven thousand dollars. This is currently being withheld from his family until the possibility of insurance fraud can be ruled out.
Signed: Gillian Burke