Boulevard home timed to set fire after kidnap
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Southern California authorities
say a family friend who kidnapped a 16-year-old girl used a timer to set
fire to his San Diego-area home, where the girl's mother and brother
were found dead.
San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman
Jan Caldwell said Tuesday that James Lee DiMaggio was spotted on a
Border Patrol surveillance camera about 20 hours before his home went up
in flames on Aug. 4. He was seen inside his Nissan Versa with
16-year-old Hannah Anderson at a westbound highway checkpoint.
Authorities recovered an incendiary device and “arson wire” at DiMaggio's home in Boulevard, about 65 miles east of San Diego.
DiMaggio died in a shootout with FBI agents in the
Idaho wilderness six days after the fire. Hannah was rescued and
returned to California.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
A woman whose body was found near the remains of
her 8-year-old son at a family friend's rural house died of a blunt
injury to the head, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Christina Anderson, 44, was found dead Aug. 4 when
firefighters extinguished flames at the home of James Lee DiMaggio, who
is accused of murdering her and her son and kidnapping her 16-year-old
daughter. DiMaggio was killed six days later in an FBI shootout in the
Idaho wilderness. Hannah Anderson was rescued and returned to
California.
The coroner does not elaborate on the nature of
Anderson's head injury or the circumstances of her death in a brief
posting to its website. The manner of death is listed as homicide.
A search warrant unsealed last week says
firefighters found her body near a crowbar and what appeared to be blood
next to her head in the garage of DiMaggio's home in Boulevard, about
65 miles east of San Diego on the U.S.-Mexico border. DiMaggio is
believed to have shot and killed their family dog, found under a
sleeping bag in the garage with blood close to its head.
Investigators found 8-year-old Ethan Anderson's
body as they sifted through rubble. Authorities identified his remains
several days later by extracting DNA from his bone marrow.
The coroner's office has not said how the 8-year-old died.
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday for the mother and son in Santee, an east San Diego suburb.
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