John leopard Orr, commonly referred by the nickname, Pillow Pyro, remains among the most notorious serial arsonist to ever grace the state of California. Orr is accredited with setting a record exceeding over two thousand fires within a period of ten years. Ironically, he accomplished the infamous acts while being assigned the duty of apprehending other arsonists that threatened the Glendale town. Apparently, Orr was recruited as an arson investigator for the fire department of the Glendale town. Among his duties was the investigation of the behaviors of arsonist, as well as assist in the promotion of city safety. He was considered to be among the firefighters that were always on the scene.
In addition, he engaged his duties with an increased sense of dedication, thus winning a number of admirations by the local population. His success as a serial arsonist was fuelled by his tactical approaches and positions in the fire department (Wambaugh, 2002). It was rather difficult to stitch his contribution to the progressive fires registered in the southern region of California when he was readily available fighting each of the cases. Apparently, his period of operation a serial arsonist saw the demise of four persons, including children. His fires were suggested to have resulted in the loss of millions of properties.
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Little is offered on the background of the serial arsonist, rather than his date of birth and the subsequent professional desires. Apparently, a significant portion of that information was established in his arsonist trials. Among the notable aspects that are associated with his personality include his desire to join the regional police outfit. However, his interests were rather unsuccessful since he failed to secure a position in the Los Angeles police despite following a fail in the entrance examinations. However, his failure never discouraged him to commit his life to the service of others. He was considered always to steer way off his professional limitation as the chief arson investigator to join the rest of the firefighters in addressing the resultant outbreaks. However, his double life as a serial arsonist and the investigator of the same remains carefully concealed from the knowledge of the population.
The motive of John Orr was considered rather unclear until his candid description in his book. In his book, he represented his character through the character Aaron. It is possible to make deductions on the possible motives that drove his interests as a serial arsonist from the evaluation of the Aaron character. Orr described Aaron as a very insecure person who loved making sole accomplishes. In addition, he was described as being a victim of deprived attention. It could thus be argued that the lack of attention drove him to seek the considered recognition through other unjust measures.
Reflecting on Orr, his arsonist behaviors could, thus, have been triggered by his perception of failed recognition (Mathew, 2012). He felt unappreciated for the commitment he offered to the fire department. In addition, the progressive failure to get recognition for his actions drove him to an extreme sense of loneliness. He, therefore, considered setting properties on fire as the only avenue that may promote the considered sense of recognition. Arguably, he had little regards for the nature of recognition accorded to the action. Apparently, it may be further debated that the mention of the name Pillow Pyro offered some sense of gratification in his character.
Other factors that may offer further insight into his motives are further listed in the character of his publication. Aaron was described to be a lover of smoke despite being a non-smoker. In addition, he cherished on the perception that he was the only person with the knowledge on how the fires were started. Arguably, the observations assist to identify further with the character of Orr, as well as his motive (United States of America v. John Leonard Orr, 1992). Orr was a non-smoker, just like the character in his work. As earlier mention, he shared a number of similarities with the character, thus justifying the deduction of his motive from the character. It may be argued that his quest to the start the fire was, also, fuelled by his shrewd desire to appreciate smoke. In addition, he gained a sense of personal fulfillment from the knowledge that no one else knew of the source of the fire outbreaks (Wambaugh, 2002). On that note, his arsonist behavior may be described to have been fuelled by the subsequent appease his pride as the only person knowledgeable of the sources of the respective fires.
Various fires were related to the Pillow Pyro character. Apparently, isolating the most fierce or damaging of them all is rather a challenge. However, two fires may be considered to be rather damaging with respect to the details of their effects. The two include the fire in the second fire established by Orr on a two-story apartment and the fire that targeted the Glendale Galleria. The first fire is regarded as rather huge with respect to the lives that were claimed. Apparently, Orr set the fire in a residential area. Among the fatalities registered following the outbreak included a young child and an elderly adult (United States of America v. John Leonard Orr, 1992). Other concerns associated with the fire included an extensive loss of property by the involved residents. Arguably, the fire allows a reflection of the evil devotion associated with the character of John Orr. He was unwilling to cease his arsonist behavior despite claiming innocent lives in his quest for personal gratification.
The second fire is considered due to the ironical nature of its description. Apparently, newspaper reports on the fire quote the responds of John Orr in relation to the fire. His opinions had been sought since he was the chief arsonist investigator in the department. Orr proceeded to offer an elaborated perception of the possible sources of the fire. He identified hot cigarette ashes as the cause of the fire. In addition, he made suggestions on the possible regions that had started the fire. He argued that the resultant damage could have been addressed if the fire had been spotted earlier. Apparently, his opinion may be perceived as an appraisal to his skills as an arsonist. Among the property damaged by the fire included the Man’s store that was adjusted to the tower hosting the clock of the mall (Steve, 2009). Critical suggestions by Orr over the possible period upon which the fire started assisted in isolating his involvement in the case. He pointed out that fire broke out thirty minutes after the closing of the shops. Arguably, the suggestion assists in the promotion of the concept of the cigarette starter that was used in the promotion of his model of fire address. Fortunately, the blaze did not comprise of casualties by tab extensive damage of property.
Orr approach towards the initiation and the subsequent choice of accelerants was rather unique. He had honed the practice through his entire period as a serial arsonist. In addition, he had established a various string of elements that were considered to be his trademarks. Fellow firefighters associated blazes established by Pillow Pyro to comprise of a unique customized starter system. It had a cigarette that was conveniently attached to matches. In addition, the book of matches was further rested in cotton background that founded the immediate accelerant for the novel fire. In some cases, the accelerant included further clothing that were packed with the cotton wool. A rubber band was then used to fasten the entire content into a joint bundle. In a few cases, the content of the Orr’s starter was discovered prior to their starting (Wambaugh, 2002). Apparently, such discoveries or the subsequent identification of possible elements associated with the starter pack allowed for the connection of the fires to the Pillow Pyro.
The mechanism of operation for the respective starter was rather simplified, with the elemental aim being the provision of time prior to the initiation of the intended fires. The cigarette was set lit, allowing for a progressive period of slow consumption. Upon burning down, it was expected to light the matches in the book. In response, the matches would then ignite the cotton wool and the attached accelerants. A small fire would break, followed by larger one once surrounding material lit up (Steve, 2009). Orr targeted locations that could promote increased magnitude of inferno outbreaks in the promotion of the effects of the resultant fire. It was believed that cotton wool attached to the book of matches was soaked in petroleum accelerants to aid its ability to catch fire. In addition, as a measure of meeting the motive of his arsonist behavior, Orr ensures that the starter approach was meticulously observed in all fires that were related to the Pillow Pyro character.
The capture of John Orr was considered to be rather challenging since he was tasked with the investigation of his crimes. However, the subsequent success in the prosecution of his notorious character came after two fires were reported in two different arson investigators conference. Critical to the outbreaks was the increased sense of correlation with respect to the models that promoted the eruption of the two fires (Mathew, 2012). Apparently, the observation of the correlation was made despite the two conferences being four years apart and in different locations. Nevertheless, the key lead towards the determination of the possible castigator of the two fires was founded on the periodical difference in their occurrence. It was noted that the population of the attendants for the two conferences was not the same. However, some ten persons had appeared in both conferences. Investigators tasked with the apprehension of the culprits responsible for the two outbreaks proceeded to determine that their identity were comprised of the participants of the conference. On that note, the interests of the involved team of investigators switched to the persons that attended both conferences. It was believed that one of the participants was indeed Pillow Pyro (Steve, 2009).
The investigation team was able to isolate fingerprints of some of the remnants of the starter material. Apparently, the measure was deemed as being constructive towards the identification of the culprit. Efforts to compare the fingerprints with those of the ten participants were made. Orr’s fingerprints were found to match those isolated from the remnant of the starter material. In addition, his fingerprints were established to match with those of other incidents associated with the Pillow Pyro. It was therefore concluded that he was indeed the Serial Arsonists. A subsequent search was undertaken on his briefcase were elements that comprised of Pillow Pyro’s starter pack were established. Among the noted elements included binoculars and cigarettes. Other included a set of rubber bands. Apparently, John Orr was not a known smoker. Therefore, the respective cache of items was perceived to be related to the activity of Pillow Pyro. Nonetheless, he proceeded to deny all charges filed against him (Mathew, 2012).
Another contributor to his arrest was the content of his manuscript entitled Point of Origin. Orr had proceeded to describe his traits as a serial arsonist in a detailed manner through the character of Aaron. Arguably, the manuscript was considered a meaningful lead in the comprehension of his character as a serial arsonist.
