By Mark Wilson
The Evansville Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A Vanderburgh County judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss some of the arson charges against an Evansville man accused of starting a fire that killed three people.
Christopher Compton, 32, faces three murder and 14 arson charges.
He is accused of starting the March 17 fire at a 29 W. Franklin St. apartment house that killed Keri A. Jones, 28; her daughter, Jazmine M. Jones, 3; and Donald Lankford, 76.
The fire also injured 10 others, including Jazmine Jones’ twin sister, Sierah N. Jones, and six firefighters.
Prosecutors have filed an arson charge for each of those injured as well as for each of the apartments damaged in the blaze.
Attorney Jon Schaefer, a public defender, sought to have all but one of the arson charges dismissed, arguing that there should be just one arson charge because it was single incident. Superior Court Judge Robert Pigman denied the motion on Wednesday.
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann has said he will seek a life without parole sentence for Compton.
Similar to a death penalty case, in life without parole trials a jury would have to hear evidence and deliberate on recommending a sentence after convicting a defendant.
Pigman also denied a separate defense motion to hire an investigator solely for helping prepare its case against a life without parole sentence.
Compton’s trial is currently set for Oct. 13. A defense motion for a change of venue to move the trial to another county to avoid pre-trial publicity is pending.
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