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Revealed: Remote Control Used to Set off Indiana House Explosion

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Police in Indiana investigating a deadly house explosion now say that it is likely that someone intentionally released gas and remotely set off the blast that killed a young couple.

According to officials, whoever is behind the explosion used an altered pipe or stove to fill the house at 8349 Fieldfare Way in Richmond Hill with gas and then ignited it with a small spark, setting off a chain of explosions that destroyed a total of five houses and damaged 81 others.

A source told The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday that remote denotation was likely used in the November 10 which has been classified as a homicide this week.

The blast killed 34-year-old John Dion Longworth and 36-year-old Jennifer Longworth, who lived next door to the home which believed to have been was pumped with gas.

According to experts, the spark that set of the explosions could have been activated from the outside using a remote control commonly used to turn on an electrical device such as a TV or air conditioner.

Jay Siegel, a forensic and investigative consultant, told The Star that the detonation would have occurred when the concentration of gas inside the home reached 10 per cent.

The revelations come amid a flurry of rumors regarding arrests being made and suspects being taken in for questioning in the case that have since been disproved by top police officials.

Indianapolis police Captain Craig Converse said that investigators are currently busy interviewing people and following tips. Another law enforcement official said that two people were interviewed Tuesday, but neither was arrested or charged.

Police also said they served a warrant to obtain property, and another warrant to obtain fingerprints, but declined to identify the recipients of the two documents.

Investigators had taken into possession and inspected a white van that was allegedly spotted in the neighborhood on the afternoon of the explosion, but declined to reveal the identity of the vehicle’s owner or its connection to the case.

On Monday, authorities launched a homicide investigation into the case. Indianapolis Homeland Security Director Gary Coons made the announcement after meeting with residents of the subdivision where the November 10 blast occurred and just hours after funerals were held for the two victims.

Read more from this story HERE.

Atheists Sue Indiana Over “Unconstitutional Marriage Statute”

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An atheist organization claims Indiana’s marriage statute is unconstitutional because it doesn’t allow nonbelievers to be married by their own leaders, but state officials say the group is divorced from reality.

The New York-based Center for Inquiry claims in a federal lawsuit that Indiana Code 31-11-6-1 violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment since it sets clear preference for religious individuals over those devoted to the “pursuit of ethical alternatives to religion.” The group says it filed suit on behalf of members John Kiel and Michelle Landrum, who plan to wed in the next six months.

“You can have a ceremony as a nonreligious person and have the marriage solemnized by someone in the government, but the issue is that a person of faith can have a leader of their world view solemnize that marriage that the nonreligious do not have,” said Paul Fidalgo, communications director for The Center for Inquiry. “They are looking to win that right, to have it solemnized. That’s the key word.”

According to Hoosier State law, marriages may be solemnized by a member of the clergy or a religious organization such as a priest, a bishop, an archbishop or a rabbi, as well as government officials like a mayor, a clerk or a clerk of the circuit court. It also specifically names the Friends Church, German Baptists, the Baha’i faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and imams of a mosque as groups who can conduct marriages in the state. Nowhere does the statute list “secular celebrants,” or anyone else whose status is based on their disbelief in a creator.

A ceremony solemnized by secular elected officials – even if they happen to be atheists – is not acceptable, according to the suit, for several reasons, including limitations on time and places where the marriage may occur, unwanted governmental overtone and a lack of personal connection to that official.

Read more from this story HERE.