ROLLA, Mo. -- A man from Rolla is charged with hiring someone to burn down a rental home that he owned. State fire investigators say Christopher Blair, 39, received an insurance payment for $64,400 on the loss a couple of weeks after the fire.
According to the probable cause statement used as the basis of the charge, the fire at 1510 Spencer Street in Rolla was reported about 1:40 a.m. on March 27. Firefighters had to force their way into the home through locked doors to put it out.
An investigator said burn patterns "on the kitchen floor leading into the living room and up the steps that were consistent with the burning of an ignitable liquid. . . . There was no accidental cause that would cause the burn pattern found at the scene. Based on the fact that these burn patterns are of a poured ignitable liquid, which would have been dependent upon the introduction of an outside heat source, this fire is determined to be incendiary in nature."
The probable cause statement says investigators learned "Blair, who is the owner of the damaged structure, had paid Mickey Schlicker an employee to have the house destroyed and gave him one hundred dollars in cash. Mr. Schlicker hired two other people identified as Martin Valley and Raymond Doug Isgrigg to set the house on fire. Mr. Schlicker gave Mr. Valley and Mr. Isgrigg fifty dollars which was half of what was being paid by Mr. Blair and showed them the residence that needed to be burned.
"Once all the arrangements were made Mr. Schlicker gave Mr. Valley and Mr. Isgrigg the key to get into the house. Later that night the fire occurred . . . as planned. Mr. Schlicker was aware that he was going to be questioned about the fire and retrieved his keys back the next morning. Mr. Schlicker paid the other fifty dollars to Mr. Valley and Mr. Isgrigg for successful completion of their jobs."
The probable cause statement says the accusations are verified by several people. It also says Schlicker twice tried to commit suicide during the investigation due to stress, and wrote a note about the fire, which police have as evidence.
The detective says Blair received insurance money three weeks after the fire after he filed a claim with his insurance company. Blair is an agent for Farmers Insurance Group in Rolla.
Isgrigg and Blair were charged with second-degree arson on Tuesday. If they're convicted, they could receive prison sentences up to seven years. A judge set Blair's bond at $25,000. No bond has been set for Isgrigg.
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