DAVID WILLIAMS; MISSOURI; ARSON; A CASE TO WATCH; TRAINED DOG SMELLS FIRE ACCELERANT; LAB TESTING DOES NOT;

"THERE’S A TWIST IN THE INVESTIGATION OF A FATAL FIRE AT A HOME ON OLIVE STREET THIS MONTH. THE ATTORNEY FOR THE MAN CHARGED WITH ARSON CALLS IT A BOMBSHELL.

DAVID WILLIAMS IS CHARGED WITH ARSON FOR THE FIRE THAT KILLED HIS FIANCÉE’S THREE CHILDREN AND INJURED THEIR MATERNAL GRANDFATHER ON MARCH 15. NOW LAB RESULTS ON SAMPLES FROM THE CRIME SCENE CONTRADICT EVIDENCE CITED BY INVESTIGATORS. WHERE A TRAINED DOG SMELLED A FIRE ACCELERANT, TESTING DID NOT."

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"“IT IS NOT SHOCKING THAT THE LABORATORY DOES NOT DETECT TRACE AMOUNTS THAT A DOG HAS ALERTED TO,” SAID ASSISTANT STATE FIRE MARSHAL BILL ZIERES.

THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS NOT INVOLVED IN THE PROSECUTION OF WILLIAMS. ZIERES SAYS SOME DOGS’ SKILLS CAN ACTUALLY BEAT THE SYSTEM."

REPORTER MARIE SAAVEDRA: KY3 NEWS;

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"SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – There’s a twist in the investigation of a fatal fire at a home on Olive Street this month. The attorney for the man charged with arson calls it a bombshell," reporter Marie Saavedra's KY3 story, published on March 30, 2010, under the heading, Arson suspect's attorney says lab results cancel out trained dog's nose," begins.

"David Williams is charged with arson for the fire that killed his fiancée’s three children and injured their maternal grandfather on March 15," the story continues.

"Now lab results on samples from the crime scene contradict evidence cited by investigators. Where a trained dog smelled a fire accelerant, testing did not.

In the probable cause statement used as the basis of the arson charge, a fire marshal said the dog alerted to an accelerant in three different spots at the fire scene: the front porch, the front door and the living room. The dog also alerted to a spot on a pant leg of jeans that Williams said he put on after he was awoken as the fire was burning.

"I was told that laboratory tests on the jeans and samples from the floor of the home did not detect any accelerant. Still, we trust the observations of an accelerant identified by fire marshals and trained dogs,” Greene County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said on Tuesday.

"Their testing is invalidated,” said Williams’ defense attorney, Andy Hosmer.

Hosmer says dogs cannot be trusted alone.

"That's a tool but you need the laboratory analysis to back that up. And, if you don't have laboratory analysis, it's not validated,” said Hosmer in an interview on Tuesday.

“It is not shocking that the laboratory does not detect trace amounts that a dog has alerted to,” said Assistant State Fire Marshal Bill Zieres.

The state fire marshal's office is not involved in the prosecution of Williams. Zieres says some dogs’ skills can actually beat the system.

"A canine alert needs to be confirmed by laboratory analysis but it (fire investigators training) also says that research has shown that canines have responded to products that are not detectable in lab analysis," said Zieres.

It's likely now the burden of proof in the dog-versus-lab will be up to a judge. Hosmer believes prosecutors should take another look at the case to see if it's worth moving forward but Patterson and his boss, Prosecuting Attorney Darrell Moore, show no sign of dropping any charges.

Williams’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 3. That’s when prosecutors have to convince a judge that there’s enough evidence to send the case to trial court."

The story can be found at:

http://www.ky3.com/home/video/89556402.html

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;