Defense witnesses dispute origin of deadly fire

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Experts hired this week to testify on behalf of a Russellville woman accused of killing her son in August dispute the area in which prosecutors allege the fire started.
Christie Michelle Scott, 30, of Signore Drive in Russellville, is on trial for capital murder. She is accused of setting fire to her family's home on Aug. 16. Her six-year-old son, Mason Scott, died in the fire.
Throughout the three-week long trial, fire investigators have testified that the deadly blaze started on a bed in Mason Scott's room where his younger brother usually slept. Noah Riley Scott was sleeping with his mother on the night of the fire.
Defense attorney Robert Tuten contends an electrical problem started the fire and has argued that two outlets that were lost before his investigators had an opportunity to inspect them hamper his ability to defend Scott. He has repeatedly asked that the case be dismissed.
This week, a fire engineer hired by the defense testified that the fire started in a television cabinet in the boys' room.
He based his theory on the high carbon monoxide level found in Mason's blood during an autopsy. He said had the fire started on a bed, he would have died of thermal burns before inhaling a large amount of carbon monoxide.
He contends the fire smoldered in the TV cabinet for several minutes, releasing large amounts of carbon monoxide before causing a flashover, igniting the bed and other materials in the room.
State forensic expert and medical examiner Emily Ward said that an autopsy reveals Mason died from a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns.
Fire investigators ruled out the area around the television because there was little damage there.
Ray Franco, an electrical engineer from Mississippi who testified for the prosecution, said the television could not have caused the fire because many of its electrical components escaped the fire unharmed. He said if the fire had begun in the television, it would have sustained extensive internal fire damage.
John Lentini, a fire investigator from Atlanta, said Tuesday that state experts' techniques were unreliable.
"There's no credible evidence to support the fire was anything other than accidental," Lentini said.
During a PowerPoint presentation, Lentini showed photographs of the Scotts' home and said, "there is not a clear defined origin" of the fire.
Lentini also believes that a smoke detector in the hallway fell off the wall sometime during the fire, not before, like prosecutors allege.
Lentini said that Noah Riley Scott's bed was so badly damaged because it was located near a window, which is the best-ventilated part of the room.
He also contends that prosecutors believe Scott is responsible because no exact cause or origin of the fire can be found.
"Any determination should be based on evidence, not the absence of evidence," he said.