- 2 days ago
On May 15, 2016, Bensalem police and firefighters were called to the Lincoln Inn Motel, where a room was engulfed in flames. As crews battled the blaze, they made a horrifying discovery—a body burned beyond recognition lying in the wreckage. At first, the scene appeared to be a tragic accident, but as investigators sifted through the evidence, they quickly realized it was far more sinister.
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00:00Firefighters were called to the Lincoln Motel on Lincoln Highway around 2.30 a.m. and arrived
00:19to heavy smoke and flames. Guests at the motel said they woke up to the sound of fire alarms
00:24and screaming. I've seen victims of fire but never saw a person that was intentionally set on fire.
00:33It's a horrific scene. It's just tragic. The poor lady did not deserve to die this way.
00:40The most significant part in this was surveillance video. We switched our gears from baseline fire to
00:47criminal investigation. You're not telling us what you've done. It did shake people's sense of fear
00:54of that there's somebody that could actually do something like that to someone. She gets caught
00:59in that fire. You get caught in that fire. You get out and she does it. I honestly don't think there's
01:05any retribution for a person to do this to another person. This was absolutely a premeditated crime.
01:10She knew that if she didn't get away from him something bad at some point would happen.
01:17In the early hours of the morning on May 15, 2016, the local police department in Ben Salem, Pennsylvania,
01:47receive a distressing 911 call from the Lincoln Motel.
01:54Hello?
01:58Is there a fire in the building?
02:02Yes!
02:03Okay, are you at the Lincoln Motel?
02:05Yes! We need you to drive. The guy is on fire in the road. He's on fire.
02:10No, 103.
02:11Ow! Ow! Hello! Everybody, ow! Everybody, ow!
02:15Do you stop? Do you stop, ma'am?
02:20A 911 call from the Lincoln Motel is not really that unusual. What is unusual is that sometimes
02:27these calls come in, and you almost instantly know that it's a big job. It's something really
02:33important and most officers just start going there automatically the guy the
02:40guy is in the in the room
02:57upon our arrival be able to determine that there was a hotel fire in the front
03:01of the building it was either room 103 or 104 by looking in the windows as we're trying to
03:06evacuate people out of the hotel we are able to see from outside that a body was on fire in one
03:11of those rooms it's a two-story motel it's got about 20 rooms on the first floor and about 20
03:21rooms on the second floor the fire is contained to the first floor but the smoke was banked down
03:29us to the floor you could not see your hand in front of your face there was numerous people
03:32having problems getting out they were crawling out of the building they couldn't see and the
03:37firefighters went interior with a hose line and attempted to do search and rescue we're just
03:43yelling and banging on doors trying to get as many people as possible they assisted numerous
03:48people out of the building through windows all through through the hallway and then they found
03:52the one subject deceased police say the fire was under control in about 30 minutes one person was
04:04discovered dead inside the motel and several people had to be rescued from the second floor
04:08police say some guests were taken to aria torresdale for smoke inhalation one guest says he heard someone
04:15screaming for help as he made his way out of the building we're coming into the backside of the
04:24Lincoln motel room 103 is on the north side of the hotel which is one of these rooms right here I
04:30believe it's fourth wind third or fourth window in when the fire occurred this is the first access that
04:39people came to this is where the fire company accessed some of the room broke the windows is
04:46the main office at the time of the crime it was motel so I guess it's a hotel now but it was always a motel
05:00once we determined that there was a body in a fire scene itself it's automatically handled as if it's a
05:07crime scene whether we know that it's an accident or we don't right away we don't take any chances of
05:13something that we didn't expect popping up on us we'd like to handle it right off the bat as a crime
05:19scene and cord and everything off so we don't lose anything the first task for responders at the scene
05:27is to try and identify this victim when we start doing the crime scene the problem was it was under
05:37debris the walls had been on fire the bedding was on fire the fire company come in you're talking
05:43thousands of gallons of water dumping into into a scene so we weren't able to a hundred percent identify
05:51quickly but when it came time to finding out who rented the room the Lincoln motel has always been
05:57a pretty cooperative place we've never really had any issues with them when it came to crime we
06:03they've always been pretty helpful they were very helpful with that fairly quickly officer me was able
06:09to provide information that the room was registered to a female the victim is identified as 46 year old
06:17Melissa bacon Smith during investigation we talked to many people that knew Melissa she was described
06:24as a very hard-working lady everybody liked her she had a daughter she came to work early in the morning
06:31she stayed along to her and she was sometimes with double shifts and she was just a generally nice
06:38person and everybody that came in contact with liked her police then continue their initial
06:45investigation into the fire discovering troubling information about Melissa's final moments alive
06:50we took a quick survey of the room where the origin of the fire was took some quick photos to make sure
06:59that we document it make sure nothing changed and if something did change we would know that it was
07:03changed then we start surveying the rest of the area to make sure that there wasn't anything residual
07:10going on that we weren't aware of right off the bat the motel unit that was on fire there was a lot
07:16of damage that room our victim however was not in that room our victim was in a room across the hall
07:21I'm laying on the ground there was no fire damage in that unit there was a lot of smoke damage a lot of
07:26heat damage but there was no fire damage for me I know at that point in time she was alive at the time of the fire
07:35she left the room that she was in and she went across the hallway I also found the bathtub running
07:41in room 103 so I know somebody turned that water on I was thinking that somebody was trying to put the
07:48fire out it appears that she had went into the bathroom and tried to put herself out because the
07:54shower curtain was burnt the flames on her body that the burns on her body show that everything was going
07:59up more than likely she was able to extinguish the flames but the building was on fire so not only
08:05did she put herself out but everything around her was still on fire and superheated now everybody's out
08:12of the hotel she's in there still alone we assume that she tries to leave but she's so disoriented and
08:20you can't see that she basically just walks over into the room across the hall and that's where her she
08:26finally succumbs to her injuries and collapses right there as police look into Melissa's death
08:33two important questions arise how did the fire start and why was she the only person at the motel so
08:41severely burned what are the big challenges we have with fires is it's very destructive the first thing
08:50that has to take priority is the firefighting efforts to put out the fire to protect human life
08:55and in a hotel or a motel like this case a motel where there's other occupants you know the
09:01firefighting efforts take priority so already you're degrading evidence in order to try to save lives
09:09when it comes to fingerprints or DNA it's very difficult to collect these items and get the type
09:17of evidence that we're used to when there's no fire involved but there was something about the fire at the
09:23Lincoln motel that made investigators think this was no accident we had a smell of gasoline coming
09:31from the room you could smell the gasoline coming off her clothing it's not normal smell gasoline on
09:39someone be different if you were in a in an auto body shop or if you were in a warehouse but in a motel
09:45at 2 a.m. it's not it's not a normal smell so this kind of leads us down the path that an accelerant was
09:51used but who had used an accelerant to start the fire at the Lincoln motel and was Melissa bacon Smith's
09:59death an accident or murder I'm back here live at the Lincoln motel you can see a number of broken
10:11windows lots of broken glass around from where firefighters had to enter the building this
10:15morning now there are a number of businesses in the area and then Salem police spent the morning
10:19visiting each of them to see if they have any surveillance video that may help in the investigation
10:23there are cameras here at the motel and they are taking that footage into evidence as well we are
10:28still waiting to learn the identity of both the victim all the news media outlets were there while we
10:34were you know investigating in the fire itself you got to remember this is on a major thoroughfare this
10:41is a slain highway three lanes each direction when you shut that down well I don't care whether it's in
10:47the middle of the day on a weekday or even a weekend when you shut down one side of that 100%
10:54you're back in traffic up for miles so it caused a lot of attention for all kinds of reasons
11:04investigators at the scene of the Lincoln motel fire are determining whether arson was the cause
11:10of the place I need to eliminate electrical I got eliminate cooking I got eliminate natural causes
11:21like lightning we have to limit all their causes before we mix up an arson I requested that we would
11:28have the arson canine dog accelerant dog from Philadelphia come up to the scene and go through
11:35the scene to see if there's any accelerants used so the canine dog hit in two different locations
11:40once in the room of origin and once where the victim's body was found we collected the evidence
11:46it was samples on the bed it was samples off the victim's body and it was samples adjacent to the bed
11:52it does not take long for investigators to identify the cause of the fire
11:59accelerant was used and this was an actual arson homicide
12:05so the first thing we did was try to contain everybody that was on scene make sure nobody left
12:17because it you never know who saw what in this particular case the forensics was an important
12:23part but it wasn't the only part as a matter of fact the most significant part in this was surveillance
12:30video there was no surveillance video inside of the room but the hallway in the motel had surveillance
12:38video one of the employees at the Lincoln motel gives investigators a strong lead very quickly on
12:47into the investigation we were aware that one person in particular had left the room just before
12:55the fire so we knew that it was a black male and he was wearing certain type of clothing we had an
13:02eyewitness that said they saw this person leaving the scene the housekeeper for the motel saw him
13:09walking out of the room and just leave had no conversation with him didn't say anything a short time
13:15later minutes she hears some screaming she smells some smoke and the room is on fire the fire was in
13:21room 103 right off the bat so we knew that it was in that room and not any other rooms
13:27we were able to determine exact time that the individual left the room entered the room rented the
13:48room as police uncover new details about this possible suspect they receive another 911 call
13:56Bucks County 911 system received a phone call from a female that reported herself to be the sister of the possible actor she reported that her brother had just called her and told her that he had just set his girlfriend on fire she identified her brother as being Kevin Small
14:14I was able to get a hold of her phone number call her back and speak to her and she had told me that very shortly between her first phone call and me calling her that he had called her again and he told her that he was walking down U.S. Route 1
14:36I was able to get on to the radio tell other patrol officers there that our suspect may be walking southbound on Route 1
14:45Ben Salem Police begin a hunt for Kevin Small the man they now believe to be the center of their investigation into the death of Melissa Bacon Smith
14:58I kept canvas in the area Route 1 up and down stopping anyone I could find we're looking for anything suspicious anyone running anyone trying to hide they noticed a male trying to hide from police cars he had the smell of gasoline coming from him and the skin was slipping and kind of hanging off of his arms they start to realize that this is the guy
15:28This is U.S. Route 1 this is the road that the suspect Kevin Small fled on afterwards he walked down the northbound lanes we're currently traveling southbound and he walked down the northbound lanes on the shoulder from what we believe all the way down to this approaching red light right here
15:55It doesn't take long for officers to receive a report of a confirmed sighting of Kevin Small
16:02Philadelphia Police Department had a suspect fit in a description of Kevin Small at the intersection of Bybury and Route 1
16:11I petitioned with my sergeant since we had everything under control on scene that I leave with my canine and I take another officer with me and we go to investigate this possible sighting and maybe question him
16:24As I was coming northbound back to the fire I noticed a male figure hiding behind a bus structure as I passed or got close to me it looked like he was trying to hide from me evade me
16:38I couldn't barely see him because he was on the other side of a rectangular bus structure
16:43I knew he was on the phone I heard him talking to someone and it was just me and him in the area
16:47Now I was unable to figure out if he was armed or a threat
16:50I didn't even know who he was at first
16:51As soon as I identified myself this male figure stopped he froze
16:55He didn't want to turn around but he didn't take off running he didn't know what to do
16:59It was just time really slowed down for me and I think of him as well
17:03They started talking to him and when they started talking to him they noticed that he had severe second degree burns on his
17:12Both of his arms up to his elbows
17:14How many people are walking down the highway at 1 o'clock, 1.30 in the morning with severe burns on their arms
17:20While they were trying to determine his name and his identity
17:25He was on the phone
17:27For some reason or another he handed our patrol officer the phone
17:31I spoke with a female on the phone and asked who she was
17:33She identified herself I didn't catch the name
17:36But I did ask who she was talking to on the other line
17:40And she identified Kevin Small
17:42So then I knew I had the guy I was looking for
17:45At that point in time he was actually on parole from some previous drug crimes
17:55And where he was found on the corner was across the street from where he was living
18:01It's a secured facility for parolees
18:05Which allowed him to work during the day
18:08And in the evenings he had to come back
18:10And be locked down
18:12Before police questioned Kevin Small about the fire
18:19And Melissa's death
18:20They bring him to the hospital to have his burns treated
18:23We went to Jefferson Tarsdale Hospital
18:26We were there for two or three hours with him
18:28So they treated his burns on his right hand
18:31Thankfully his injuries weren't that severe that it didn't require him to stay overnight
18:38He's in custody at this point so we didn't Mirandize him
18:41So I couldn't question Mr. Small, neither could Officer Crozier
18:45But he did make several statements throughout the course of the couple hours we were there
18:48He mentioned that he really screwed up this time
18:51This wasn't his first rodeo, that he's been in and out of jail
18:54His mom was going to be extremely disappointed and that he really f***ed up this time
18:58Details of Kevin Small's relationship with Melissa Bacon-Smith also began to emerge
19:05During the investigation we were able to talk to family members, co-workers of Melissa Bacon
19:13And we found out that Kevin and Melissa had been together for several months
19:19But her co-workers had let us know that there had always been an underlying current of control on Kevin's part
19:31To the point where even her friends were telling her, you've got to get away from this guy
19:37So she realized that and that from what we understand and told by her family and co-workers
19:43That she was, that was what she was trying to do
19:45She was trying to get away from him
19:47The night that this all transpired
19:51They were seen in the bar of a neighboring motel
19:55And Melissa had gotten up to play pool
19:59Well, while she was playing pool
20:02They said you could see that Kevin was very visually, visibly annoyed
20:06That she was not paying attention to him
20:09He was a control freak
20:11And that he wanted her to do what he wanted her to do
20:14When he wanted her to do
20:15He wanted her to be his
20:18And that was it
20:18All the evidence pointed to Kevin Small
20:22Police just wrapped up their investigation here at the Lincoln Motel
20:34They were here for almost eight hours after they were called here for this deadly fire
20:38Police say one person is dead and one person is in custody
20:42No word yet on any charges for that suspect
20:44Investigators spent the morning trying to piece together how this fire started
20:48Myself and Bucks County Detective Martin McDonough
20:54Interviewed him at police headquarters
20:56How did that fire start?
20:59I don't know how it fires are
21:00I think you do
21:02Straight up
21:05How did that start?
21:08I don't remember
21:08Okay
21:14You're taking baby steps and that's good
21:20You got to tell us what happened in that room
21:23During the interview
21:26He expressed to us that
21:29How much he loved her
21:30And that she wasn't taking him serious
21:33And that he was trying to make a nice night for her
21:37And him to enjoy each other's company
21:39And everything that he did
21:42He did wrong
21:43He initially wanted to get a hotel room
21:45At a different hotel where
21:47They would normally go
21:49They had apparently been seeing each other for several months
21:52He waited too long and wasn't able to get a room there
21:55They were all sold out
21:56So he got one at the Lincoln Motel
21:58Now I finally get a light
22:04Where it's not in her face
22:05But that light
22:07That bathroom light
22:09I said oh look at this
22:11It's not in her face now
22:12Nothing's bothering me now
22:14Okay
22:15But this is just for the vet
22:17Oh my god
22:18No he's a nasty
22:20He's getting mad about that
22:21And he said that just everything he did
22:24Just got on her nerves
22:27And he was trying everything he could
22:29To make her happy
22:29And it just wasn't working
22:30I don't know
22:31Hey listen
22:32I don't know
22:33You don't get me out
22:34You don't know what I'm trying to
22:35Or whatever
22:35I'm just saying
22:36You know people lose it man
22:38You don't care
22:39You know
22:40Whether you
22:40I have it or whatever
22:42It doesn't matter
22:43You can lose it man
22:45You know what I'm saying
22:45What the f***
22:47I ain't saying
22:47I ain't saying
22:48I'm f***ing perfect
22:49I know I ain't perfect
22:50What the f***
22:51I don't f*** like this
22:52You lost it though
22:54Didn't you?
22:55I think I did
22:56And when you lost it
22:58What did you do?
22:59I f*** you
23:00I'm f***ing black
23:03What happened when you lost it?
23:06I don't know
23:07You know what I'm saying
23:08I do not remember
23:10A specific thing
23:11Now
23:13But when she's
23:14When she's
23:15Saying Kevin
23:16Right
23:17When she says
23:18What is she doing?
23:19Where is she?
23:20I remember
23:21I'm leaving out of this room
23:22I'm just leaving
23:23She on the bed?
23:24She on the floor?
23:25She's standing next?
23:26She's standing there
23:27She's standing
23:28By the door
23:29By the door
23:30I remember her
23:32When I'm like
23:32I'm f***ing
23:33I'm just going
23:34You know what I'm saying
23:35I remember going through the door
23:36When you go to the door
23:38And I remember her just going
23:39Because they say
23:40My name
23:40You know what I mean?
23:43And I remember
23:44I just don't want to talk to her
23:46You know what I mean?
23:47I just don't f***ing care
23:48I'm tired of having to wait all day
23:49Well when it gets bad
23:53You leave her
23:54Everyone told me
23:56So we were able
23:58To determine the timeline
24:00Of the crime
24:01By the video surveillance
24:02So the motel surveillance
24:05Show him leaving the parking lot
24:07There are outside cameras
24:08We were able to track
24:10His movements
24:11In the parking lot
24:12We were able to find
24:14That he had gone
24:15Across the street
24:15There is a large
24:17Convenience store
24:18Slash gas station
24:19At Wawa
24:20Which is a big staple
24:21Here in the Philadelphia area
24:23We were able to go
24:24To the Wawa food store
24:26And they were
24:27More than cooperative
24:28With us
24:28And let us look
24:30Through all their surveillance
24:31We see him
24:36Come into the store
24:37Buy some sandwiches
24:39Leave
24:40Go back over to the motel
24:41We know he leaves
24:48The motel again
24:48We see him go back
24:50In the direction
24:51Of the Wawa
24:51We look at the Wawa
24:53We see him in there again
24:54From what we can gather
24:58While he's at the Wawa
24:59The second time
25:00It kind of strikes him
25:03Because he leaves
25:04But turns around
25:04Comes right back in
25:05And he gets a coffee cup
25:07And you can see him
25:08On the video
25:09With the coffee cup
25:10In his hand
25:11And he walks up
25:12And he walks up
25:13To the attendant
25:14At the register
25:15And you see him
25:16Pointing out
25:17Into the gas station area
25:19And pointing at a
25:21I assume telling her
25:22What gas pump
25:23He wants
25:24Pays her
25:25A dollar's worth
25:27For gasoline
25:27Walks out
25:29You can see him
25:30At the gas pump
25:31You can't see him
25:32Pumping it in
25:33But then he walks away
25:34And the surveillance
25:35Of the motel
25:36He walks back
25:36And he has a cup
25:38A Wawa coffee cup
25:39In his hand
25:39What did you use
25:49To start the fire
25:50I remember
25:51Starting the fire
25:52You told your mom
25:53You started the fire
25:54I don't remember
25:55Telling my mom
25:56Yeah
25:56I don't remember
25:58Telling my mom
25:58That
25:59And why would I
25:59Spoke a fire
26:00In the room that I'm in
26:01With her
26:02It's just going
26:04That's what we're
26:05Trying to find out
26:06But you didn't
26:06Leave her behind
26:07She grabs you
26:08And you leave her
26:08Behind
26:09She touched my arm
26:10With the remote fire
26:12And you left her
26:13What are you going
26:16To say to her
26:17When she says
26:18To you
26:18Why'd you leave me there
26:19I'm not going
26:20To say nothing to her
26:21Because I know
26:22She's not saying
26:23To me
26:23Because I have
26:24Bad ability
26:25He did not know
26:27That she had already
26:28Passed away
26:28From her burns
26:29No
26:30F***
26:34From the weapons
26:37What about her
26:38Where's she at
26:39Take a sip of water
26:40She didn't make it
26:47She died
26:51She died
26:52I've been straight up
27:08We've been straight up
27:08With you from the very beginning
27:09We're showing you
27:11What we even know
27:12Tell us about your mistakes
27:16Kevin Small
27:36Pretty cold
27:38Throughout the whole thing
27:39There were times
27:40Where he was crying
27:42Showing concern
27:44We don't know
27:45If he was crying
27:46Because he got caught
27:47He was crying
27:48Because he was
27:48Really concerned
27:49He did seem
27:52To have a genuine reaction
27:54When we did
27:55Eventually tell him
27:56In the interview
27:57That she had died
27:58He did cry
28:00Put his head down
28:01Took a little while
28:02A couple minutes
28:04To compose himself
28:05But I don't know
28:08If he totally grasped
28:09What was in front of him
28:11At this point
28:12She's stuck in the fire
28:19Isn't she?
28:24Isn't she?
28:26I don't know
28:26What did the rooms burn?
28:31I don't know
28:32I don't know
28:32What the f***
28:33But I know
28:34When she grabbed my arm
28:35Touched my arm
28:36And he said
28:37My name
28:38And she
28:38It stumps on her
28:40I'm going like this
28:41Like you know
28:42Just like you
28:44Come to reality
28:44You know what I mean?
28:46You saw her burning?
28:47No I felt the heat
28:50When she f***ing
28:51It started burning
28:52I was like
28:52Ah s***
28:52It's like everything
28:53Just psh
28:54You come out of everything
28:55You're not drunk
28:56You're not there
28:56Oh s***
28:57You know what I'm saying?
28:59I just f***ing touched my arm
29:00You just said it
29:01You're not drunk
29:01When that happens
29:02When that pain hits it
29:03I mean it's like
29:04So what do you see
29:05When she touches your hand?
29:06I just see her f***ing hand
29:08On my arm
29:08And I hear you see my baby
29:09And where are you standing?
29:11I don't know
29:11I'm from in the room
29:12Somewhere
29:12And I just f***ed
29:13I know I just f***ed
29:14It took us quite a while
29:17Of talking to him
29:18And convincing him
29:19You know
29:20This is the woman
29:20That you love
29:21And this is what happened
29:23You know what happened
29:25He kept trying to tell us
29:27He didn't know
29:28He didn't know
29:28He didn't know
29:29Well we explained to him
29:31You were the only two people
29:32In the room
29:32You're the only person
29:33Who knows
29:34You're not telling us
29:35What you know
29:36You know
29:38That you lost it
29:41And something happened
29:42In that room
29:42And a fire breaks up
29:44Out in that room
29:46She gets caught in that fire
29:49You get caught in that fire
29:50You get out
29:51But she doesn't
29:52And she has to get out
29:54I have to get out
29:55When I feel that
29:55I have to get out
29:56When I feel
29:58That f***ing
29:59When I feel her hand
30:00Touch my heart
30:02Or her hand
30:03Or whatever
30:03And she say my name
30:05It's like
30:06It's like
30:06I don't know
30:07I ain't f***ing
30:08But all you care about
30:09Is you at that point
30:10Yeah
30:11I'm like
30:12I gotta get out of here
30:13That's it
30:14And it's
30:15It's self-preservation
30:16At that point
30:17Right
30:18But you left her behind
30:19I love this
30:20I thought I loved this girl
30:22I feel like I do
30:23But when she touched it
30:25And I felt that sting
30:26And burned
30:26From my own heart
30:27Nothing mattered to me
30:28I gotta go
30:30That's all that mattered
30:31At that point
30:32I gotta go
30:33Kevin never
30:34Took active steps
30:36To hide anything
30:38That he did
30:39But what he did do
30:41Was what most people do
30:43When
30:43Once they're caught
30:44And in an interview
30:45He tried to
30:46Minimize any
30:48Involvement he had
30:49He tried to deflect
30:50How it happened
30:51He tried
30:52Came up with a story
30:54That he didn't do it
30:56It was an accident
30:56She uh
30:58She had
30:59A f***ing hole
31:00Man
31:00I think she was
31:01Smoking back
31:01She said
31:02I'm smoking back
31:03Mom
31:04I smacked
31:06Smacked the cup
31:08And eventually
31:17As we chipped away
31:18And chipped away at him
31:19He eventually admitted to
31:21Splash
31:22He called it splashing
31:23We
31:24We believe it to be
31:25Throwing the gasoline on her
31:27He blames
31:28That she had a cigarette
31:30Uh
31:31In her mouth
31:32That caused it to go off
31:33We believe that he
31:34Ignited it
31:35Whether it be a lighter
31:36Or
31:36More than likely a lighter
31:37And once it went up
31:39He realized
31:41What had happened
31:42And he got out of there
31:43I mean I just
31:44You know
31:45I just
31:45I just
31:48Lost it
31:49Hurt her ever
31:51I'm f***ing eating up
31:53Bro
31:53What's one of that
31:54Kind of f***ing
31:55What caught on fire
31:56I don't
31:57I don't
31:58I was just
31:59I was hauling
32:00I was hauling
32:00I'm leaving
32:01I'm done
32:02I'm just leaving
32:03I put this money
32:03I'm just leaving
32:05And next
32:06You know
32:06I swear man
32:07F***ing last thing
32:09I remember
32:09Was her touch my arm
32:10Say my name
32:11I don't believe
32:13Mr. Smalls story
32:14That it was an accident
32:14I believe that he
32:16Intentionally set her on fire
32:17The science just doesn't
32:18Work out
32:18A cigarette
32:19Being smoked
32:20And gasoline thrown
32:21On to you
32:22The way he said
32:23He's knocked it over
32:24With his hand
32:24Would not ignite that fire
32:25It just would not
32:27Ignite that fire
32:27Different examinations
32:29Have taken place over time
32:30And I've been a part
32:31Of a few of them
32:32If you take a cigarette
32:33And you have a cup of gasoline
32:35And you put the cigarette
32:37A lit cigarette
32:38Into a cup of gasoline
32:39It will go out
32:39It will not catch on fire
32:40Right
32:41So if you have that same cigarette
32:43And it's on fire
32:44And you hold it over
32:46The cup of gasoline
32:46When their vapors are coming up
32:48And you hold it there
32:48For a few seconds
32:49You can get a fire to ignite
32:51But just throwing it at it
32:52It would not ignite
32:53Most of the time
32:54It's going to go out
32:54But what was on fire
32:56She was on fire
32:57And it wasn't you
32:58I don't know
32:59I was leaving
33:01But what was on fire
33:02Behind me was on fire
33:05Because I'm going to
33:05The doors of where you're at
33:06And the bathroom's right there
33:09There was a thing right here
33:11You know we've never been
33:14In that room before
33:15And then we walk that way
33:16The window's back that way
33:18The thing with the heater
33:20All that
33:20Right there
33:22In a pretty big bed
33:22Right there
33:23So I smacked
33:25Where did you smack it from?
33:27Where was the cup?
33:28On the TV
33:29On the TV
33:30On the TV
33:31On the TV
33:31Okay
33:31All that I had on the table
33:37Was it a cup or a water bottle?
33:38It was a cup
33:39The beer was over there
33:42I don't remember what the f*** there was
33:44I don't know what I mean
33:45By this point
33:46I'm just
33:46You know
33:47He would never admit
34:03That he went
34:04And actually purchased a gasoline
34:06We told him
34:07We had him on film
34:08Standing there
34:10Pumping the gas
34:11He just
34:12I don't remember
34:13I don't remember
34:15He never would admit
34:16Walking over
34:18And purchasing the gasoline
34:20While he acknowledged
34:21That it was there
34:23And it was on her
34:24And all that
34:25He never once
34:27Acknowledged that
34:28He remembered
34:29Being the one
34:30To actually go get the gasoline
34:32He was trying to downplay
34:35What he did
34:36To make it look
34:37A little bit better
34:37If he accidentally
34:38Spilled gasoline on her
34:39Why didn't he help her?
34:41Why didn't he call 911?
34:42Why didn't he activate
34:43The fire alarm?
34:43She actually grabbed his arms
34:45And he pushed her away
34:45And didn't even help her
34:46That is something
34:47That sticks with you
34:48Because she was alive
34:49And I just know
34:49How much pain
34:50She was going through
34:51The housekeeper was saying
34:52She was screaming
34:52The housekeeper saw
34:54The fire in the bed
34:55It's just tragic
34:56The poor lady
34:57Did not deserve to die this way
34:58I determined
35:03It's an arson
35:04Intentionally set
35:06We talked together
35:07We realized
35:08He was the only subject
35:09Besides the victim
35:10That was in the room
35:11His burns
35:13His demeanor
35:14His phone calls
35:15To his family
35:16The video evidence
35:17We put it all together
35:18And we both agreed
35:19The police department
35:20The fire department
35:21That Kevin Small
35:22Was the actor
35:23That set this fire
35:24Walter, I spoke with the victim's daughter tonight
35:33She told me that
35:34Melissa Bacon Smith
35:36Was a loving mother of four
35:37A grandmother of seven
35:39Who will be deeply missed
35:40She was staying here
35:42At this motel
35:42With her boyfriend
35:43When for some reason
35:45In his words
35:45He lost it
35:47Hey, what happened?
35:51Tell us what happened
35:52Yeah, Kevin
35:53What happened in that
35:54Step back, folks
35:55You lost it
35:55Step back
35:56You lost it
35:57Step back
35:57And what happened?
35:58What'd you do?
35:58Step back
35:59Bad thing, man
36:00What's that?
36:00Bad thing
36:01It was pretty outrageous
36:03The idea that someone would
36:05Pour gasoline on someone
36:08And then set them on fire
36:09Kind of resonated with people
36:12To the fact of
36:13How cruel
36:15And how inhumane that could be
36:17Everybody's burnt their fingers
36:20Or, you know, somehow
36:21Or burnt their tongue
36:22Drinking coffee
36:24You know
36:24Just the sheer thought
36:26That you would be
36:28Set on fire with gasoline
36:30And the majority of your body
36:31Would be on fire
36:32At any given time
36:33People related with the idea
36:36Of how painful
36:37And agonizing
36:38That that could be
36:38The lead charge
36:40Was criminal homicide
36:41And then he was charged
36:43With multiple counts
36:45Of recklessly endangering
36:46Other people
36:47Which is
36:47He got one count
36:49For everybody
36:49That was in the motel
36:50So 40, 45 counts of that
36:53Arson
36:54Criminal mischief
36:55All the residual crimes
36:57That would come
36:58With setting something on fire
36:59This crime was
37:01Absolutely premeditated
37:02This subject had to
37:04Go to Wawa
37:05Pay for his gas
37:06Get a cup
37:08Fill the cup
37:10With gasoline
37:10Cross back across the street
37:13Walk back into the room
37:15And within an hour
37:17He walks out
37:19And the place goes up
37:20In flames
37:20And there's a woman dead
37:21This was absolutely
37:23A premeditated crime
37:24I mean the evidence
37:26Is overwhelming
37:27I don't think you get
37:28More chilling evidence
37:29Seeing that there was
37:31Wawa video surveillance
37:34Of him obtaining
37:35Cups of gasoline
37:37And of course
37:38I know he tried to lend
37:39Some alternative theory
37:40That it was
37:40You know
37:41Flung on the victim
37:42When she was smoking
37:43And each step taken
37:45When you could have
37:46Avoided taking those steps
37:47Are just indications
37:49Of the intent
37:50The specific intent
37:51To kill that you need
37:52For first degree murder
37:53Outstanding police work
37:54From everyone involved
37:55The initial responding officers
37:57The detectives
37:58The follow through
37:59You know
37:59The canine officer
38:00Everyone
38:01Pennsylvania still has
38:06The death penalty
38:06And if it warrants it
38:08We go for it
38:10Whenever you have
38:11A trial of any crime
38:13The family members
38:14And the victims
38:15Always have to relive
38:16That crime
38:17And they'd have to
38:18Sit through a court case
38:19Where a defense attorney
38:21Would try to make it
38:22Look like this guy
38:23Didn't do it
38:24If the family
38:25Is okay with
38:26You know
38:27Allowing these people
38:28To plead guilty
38:29To a first degree
38:31Murder charge
38:32Which would give them
38:33Life without parole
38:35And we know
38:35They're never getting out
38:36We think it's a win
38:37All the way around
38:38Because who wants
38:39To victimize your
38:40Victim or your family
38:41Members over again
38:43Nobody wants them
38:44To put anybody
38:45Through that
38:45There's already been
38:46One crime
38:46It'd be another crime
38:47To force them
38:48To go through that again
38:49Faced with
38:51Insurmountable evidence
38:52Kevin Small
38:53Pleads guilty
38:54To all charges
38:55Against them
38:55To avoid
38:56The death penalty
38:57That sentence
39:00I mean
39:00Life plus 68
39:02To 134 years
39:04Is you know
39:05The layered certainty
39:07That this family has
39:09That this defendant
39:10Will die within
39:10The four walls
39:11Of that state
39:11Correctional facility
39:12You're never going
39:14To be able to bring
39:15Back this poor
39:16Victim's life
39:17You'll never fully
39:18Bring the peace
39:19That this family
39:19Deserves
39:20But at least
39:21If they have
39:22The sense of justice
39:23And knowing that
39:24No one will ever
39:24Be harmed by this
39:25Man again
39:26Then I know
39:27Our job was done
39:28As he was hauled
39:30Away after court
39:31Smalls apologized
39:32To his victim's family
39:33And told reporters
39:34Jail is where he belongs
39:36This was a very difficult
39:47Case to investigate
39:49For our detectives
39:51And for the prosecutors
39:52And for the firefighters
39:54Because when you think
39:57About how this happened
39:58When you think about
39:59A person taking a cup
40:03Of gasoline
40:03Throwing it on another
40:06Human being
40:06And lighting them on fire
40:08That's horrific
40:09Let alone what you have to see
40:12After the fire is put out
40:13The damage
40:15The destruction
40:16At the hotel
40:17The person lying
40:18On the ground
40:19Dead from burns
40:20And from smoke inhalation
40:22It's a horrific scene
40:23This affects investigators
40:25No matter how seasoned
40:27They are
40:27Of all the ones
40:30That I have been involved in
40:32This was one that
40:34I never would have thought
40:36To have someone
40:37Intentionally pour gasoline
40:39On someone
40:39And set them on fire
40:40It leaves a mark
40:42And you remember
40:43For the rest of your life
40:43There was 40 some guests
40:45In that hotel
40:46When the fire happened
40:47We're lucky
40:48We don't have more people
40:49That were dead
40:49I know being a firefighter
40:51For 23 years
40:52And being burnt
40:53On the job
40:53Having burns
40:54It's a lot of pain
40:56For this young lady
40:58To have to live through that
40:59Even if it was only
41:00For a short period of time
41:00She went through
41:01A lot, a lot of pain
41:02And it does touch it
41:03She did not die in that bed
41:05She was awake
41:06She got up
41:07She tried to go to the bathroom
41:08And put the fire out
41:09She tried to get outside
41:10She didn't make it
41:11She wound up
41:12Falling dead
41:13In the room
41:14Across the hallway
41:15But she experienced
41:16A lot of pain
41:17And I really do feel for her
41:18To know the victim
41:22Grabbed onto him
41:23And he pushed her away
41:24That hits hard
41:25Right?
41:26That's a human life
41:26It's just
41:27It's sad
41:28But I'm glad
41:29We were able to do our job
41:31And bring closure
41:31To the family
41:32And speaking about
41:33Justice for the family
41:34I mean
41:34If it was served
41:35That's a loaded question
41:36In my opinion
41:36I don't think justice
41:38Is ever served
41:39For someone who commits
41:40Such a heinous crime
41:41Against another human being
41:42I honestly don't think
41:43There's any retribution
41:44For a person to do this
41:45To another person
41:46So I don't think justice
41:47Is ever going to be served
41:48Justice will be served
41:49When he meets his maker
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