UPn 09/21 2330 Video tape believed to reveal satanic[sic] arson fire SACRAMENTO, Calif. (U

UPn  09/21 2330  Video tape believed to reveal satanic[sic] arson fire

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (UPI) -- A video tape of a burning building,
narrated by a whispering person believed to be a devil-worshipping
arsonist, has sparked an intensified investigation after it was
shown on national television, an official said Friday.

The homemade tape shows a raging fire burning at night. An eery voice
whispers, "Ancient spirit of evil. Look at it. The fire department
trying to put it out. What a laugh."

The chilling narrative by an unseen person is punctuated with frenzied
breathing and crazed laughter.

"Look at it Omar... this is what I've been doing all week's vacation...
I said I'll do it... I said I'll do it."

Investigators were given the tape after a family whose car had broken
down found it Aug. 15, 1989, beside Highway 205 near Stockton, wrapped
in an old military fatigue jacket.

The stale investigation was rekindled when the television program
"Unsolved Mysteries" featured it Wednesday night and received a
record-breaking 1,100 calls from viewers.

Some thought they recognized the site or offered other clues.

Until now, investigators have had little to go on. With the tape, they
found a skull and a pestle -- used to crush herbs -- and other
evidence suggesting satanic [sic] rituals and worship.

They believe the voice on the tape is that of the arsonist, but they
don't know the location of the fire.

"The last year or so we've been trying to trace it, unsuccessfully,"
said David LeMay, chief of law enforcement for the state Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The broadcast resulted in calls offering tips to identify the military
patch found on the fatigue jacket and information about the meaning
of "Omar."

Some viewers thought the fire was in the Redwood City-Woodside area
of San Mateo County. Other leads pointed to Stockton, the Sacramento
area and Arizona.

"We've got about eight places (on the tape) where people say, 'That
looks familiar to me,"' LeMay said.

A team of investigators from the state forestry department is working
on the case, along with the state fire marshal and the San Joaquin
County arson task force.
---------------------


UPn  09/28 1825  Suspected videotape arsonists arrested

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (UPI) -- Police arrested two teenagers Friday
accused of setting a house aflame and making a videotape of the
raging fire narrated by a whispering and maniacally laughing arsonist.

Police spokesman Howard Baker said one of the youths, now 19, confessed
to sparking the 1988 fire and filming the chilling tape.

Detectives linked the teenager to the torching of 11 other structures
and ignition of 15 grass fires in a series of arson blazes that
scorched parts of Redwood City and San Mateo County south of San
Francisco in 1987 and 1988, Baker said. Four of the structure fires
caused more than $2 million in damage.

"There's no motive," Baker said. "We don't know if there are other
suspects involved or not."

Police arrested the two males early Friday on suspicion of arson
for starting the Aug. 15, 1988 videotaped fire that burned to the
ground an unfinished house under construction on Colton Court in
Redwood City.

A 17-year-old boy was released to the custody of his parents. The 19-
year-old was confined at juvenile hall pending a judge's decision on
whether he would be tried as a juvenile or adult, Baker said.

Investigators got 1,600 calls and possible leads from people across the
nation after the videotape was shown on the national television program
"Unsolved Mysteries."

Investigators were given the tape after a family whose car had broken
down found it wrapped in an old military fatigue jacket beside Highway
205 near Stockton, Calif. in August 1989.

The tape shows flames consuming a house at night as an eerie voice
whispers, "Ancient spirit of evil. Look at it. The fire department
is trying to put it out. What a laugh."

The unseen narrator, breathing heavily and laughing, spoke to someone
named "Omar." Some investigators thought it could be a reference to
Satan.

"Look at it Omar ... this is what I've been doing all week's vacation ...
I said I'll do it, I said I'll do it."

Along with the videotape and jacket, the family found a skull, a pestle
used to crush herbs, and other evidence suggesting satanic [sic] rituals
and worship.