Insurance company investigates Walton arson
By Lindsey Ziliak, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
Jan. 12--WALTON -- An insurance company is looking at phone records, library logs and surveillance footage that may be linked to the September arson that destroyed a historic Walton home, according to court records.
Investigators previously ruled that someone used a flammable liquid to start a fire Sept. 14 in an upstairs library at 202 N. Davis St.
Firefighters from six local departments battled the blaze, but the home was a total loss.
The 130-year-old house was valued at $102,300, according to the Cass County Assessor's Office.
Ben and Wendy Durr lived at the home with their five children.
When the fire broke out, Wendy Durr and the children were visiting relatives out of state, her husband said. He said he had left home shortly before the fire started to buy dog food.
In the days that followed, the family's insurance company conducted a preliminary investigation that prompted a call to the state fire marshal's office. Now, the company has subpoenaed multiple records for review.
Officials at United Services Automobile Association want to look at all surveillance footage from Logansport-Cass County Public Library the day of the fire and logs of any books or DVDs returned or checked out by Ben and Wendy Durr that same day.
"Benjamin Durr advises that shortly after the fire, he visited the Logansport/Cass County Public Library," attorneys wrote in a petition filed in Cass Superior Court I in September.
The company also sought all surveillance footage from Main Street Market, 824 N. Third St. in Logansport, from 2 to 4 p.m. the day of the fire.
According to court records, USAA also wants a record of all calls made from and received at two specific Verizon Wireless phone numbers from Sept. 1 through Sept. 26. The records do not state who those numbers belonged to.
USAA attorneys did not respond to a phone message left Wednesday.
An attorney for the Durrs emphasized Wednesday that this was not a criminal matter. Tod Groff said his clients were simply working with USAA to settle the insurance claim.
"We're just trying to figure out what happened," Groff said. "Both sides are cooperating."
Meanwhile, the state fire marshal's office is continuing its criminal investigation. Investigator Fred Sumpter declined to release any details Wednesday.
"It's still ongoing," he said. "We have five years to complete the investigation. We're working as fast as we can."
--Lindsey Ziliak is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or lindsey.ziliak@pharostribune.com.
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