Opinion ID: 2216408
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Riss Fire.

Text: A smoke alarm awoke Mrs. Riss at 4:30 a.m. on November 24, 1992. She and her husband sought shelter at a neighbor's home. As firefighters battled the blaze which ostensibly originated from trash set on fire along the exterior of the house, Hage, a stranger to the Risses and the neighbor, appeared inside the neighbor's home. Hage approached Mr. Riss, asked how he was doing, and mentioned that he had recently witnessed his neighbor's home burn. He repeated this behavior several times and, according to witnesses, became a general nuisance. During his interrogation on November 25, Hage stated that he was drawn to the Riss fire after he saw the smoke and flames from his parents' house on the same street when he arrived there around 4:00 a.m. after an early morning walk. A service station employee confirmed that Hage left the station for home on foot between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m. Investigators concluded that the fire had burned thirty to sixty minutes before it was suppressed at 5:11 a.m. Statements by a news reporter who covered the fire suggested that smoke was not yet visible from Hage's house at the time Hage first claimed to have spotted the fire. The State presented expert testimony during the trial that the recent series of fires fit a profile known to arson investigators as not for profit arson. An arsonist with this profile characteristically ignites fires in secluded areas, normally at the same time of day, using a similar method each time. A not for profit arsonist will usually return to the scene to watch the fire or survey the damage.