Controversial sign may have led to car arson

1-8-2008 Virginia:

Norfolk fire investigators believe a fire caught on home video is the work of an arsonist. Those living in the neighborhood where the car was set on fire wonder if a controversial sign led to the car being torched.

We first told you about the controversial sign last week. It was a sign reading: "No sex offenders and no illegals." The sign was put up in the front of a home on Sheppard Avenue in Norfolk, and the landlord that put it there says he had every right to post it.

Early Monday morning, neighbors grabbed their video cameras to capture the glow coming from a car on fire.

"I don't know if they're malicious," said Norfolk's, Minton Owens. "I don't know if they just want to prove a point."

Minton Owens, the landlord who posted the sign, heard the explosion and ran to his window. The car's now gone, but shattered glass and other parts still remain where the car once stood.

Onorato's Wife's Car Burned In Driveway

8-9-2003 Vermont:

GROTON VERMONT: Groton resident Virginia Onorato -- wife of convicted murderer and rapist Robert Onorato -- was awakened between midnight and 1 a.m. Friday by Groton Fire Chief Jeremy Darling.

Darling told her that her car was ablaze in her driveway.

Some of her neighbors were driving home from a movie and spotted the fire, drove to the nearest neighbor's house up the road, and called the fire department.

They later returned and were compassionate and supportive of her, Virginia Onorato said.

The fire department responded promptly, she said, and put out the fire quickly so that the car is not a total loss.

The fire happened hours after an emotionally charged meeting of concerned Groton townspeople, who were gathered to learn about Robert Onorato's past and how they can deal with his release into their community.

Onorato was convicted of robbing and killing a 19-year-old Sunoco gas station attendant in 1978 when he was 20 years old, and of raping a 9-year-old boy in 1980.

Virginia was shaken and scared by the car fire.

"I stayed up all night because I was scared every time the cat jumped," Virginia said.

She moved to Groton from White River Junction on June 28 and has been enjoying her new home, which used to be a schoolhouse, books from the Groton town library, painting, and weekend visits to see her husband, Robert.

Robert and Virginia met in 1990 through a ministry to prisoners that Virginia was involved in. They met and corresponded for six years before they were married.

"Bob is caring, witty, and intelligent and it wasn't hard to fall in love with him," Virginia said in describing her husband.

They chose to live in Groton because Robert had had a tentative job in Berlin, and so they chose a 25-mile range and looked for houses within that area. When they saw the Groton house, they fell in love with it, and liked the small town atmosphere.

The recent car fire disheartens Virginia and makes her concerned for the day that Robert is released.

"I've waited 12 years for him to come home and I'm scared," Virginia said. She doesn't know what to expect on Aug. 15 when her husband will be released.

"I can handle this (referring to the fire)," she said, adding, "but I am scared for what's going to happen when Bob is released and comes home."

After Thursday night's events Robert didn't want Virginia to be alone and so her sister-in-law is going to be with her for a few days.

Virginia wants people to know that the crimes Robert did were terrible, but they were years ago, and they were done during a period when he was young and using drugs. She also said that although drugs are available in prison, Robert has always come up clean.

Virginia understands that some people are upset about Robert's past and understands that they want to know about it, but she hopes that people will give him a chance.

Husband and wife will be meeting with citizens who are concerned about his past and would like to them ask them questions about it.

News of the meeting and the fire spread quickly throughout Groton.

"I couldn't believe it," said Constable Milton Lamberton about the fire, adding, "They haven't given her a chance; it's like we are in the Ku Klux Klan days."

Others agreed with Lamberton.

"They need to give him a chance," said Sara Caccararo, 18, of Groton.

Mandy Darling, 19, of Groton concurred and said, "His wife hasn't done a thing."

Many seem to agree with those opinions, but not all.

"I hope they leave," said Susan Emerson of Groton, who doesn't believe that Onorato could have been rehabilitated and fears for the lives of those in the town.

Virginia Onorato has rented a car and is hoping the situation calms down so she and Robert can live a quite and normal life.

"I won't hold any grudges when they find out who did this," Virginia said, adding that she understands that people can do wrong things when emotionally worked up. ...more... by SETH POWERS, Staff Writer

Stolen car torched at Brook field house: Two bottles of flammable liquid tossed at home..

8-24-2004 Wisconsin:

Brook field - A group of males likely targeting a 20-year-old man lighted a car on fire after driving it up to an attached garage and threw two bottles containing a flammable liquid at the home Monday, police said. One bottle went through the living room window. The other landed on the porch at the home in the 14500 block of Mildale St. about 12:30 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Petersen. There was an explosion, but it might have been a tire from the blazing car that blew up, Petersen said.

The home's owner, Todd M. Kiefer (Registered Sex Offender), said his son was sleeping but woke up to the sound of glass breaking. Kiefer's son called the Fire Department, and then he used a garden hose through the broken window to put out the fire inside the home. He was not injured, and the attackers escaped. "This is an attempted homicide," Kiefer said about the incident. Kiefer said he doesn't believe that his family - and especially his son - have enemies.

Appleton St. fire may have been set

8-24-2006 Massachusetts:

.Police are investigating whether someone targeted a sex offender by lighting his car on fire Sunday morning. Fire and police responded to 27A Appleton St., at 5:45 a.m. Sunday after a report of a Chevy Cavalier on fire in the rear of the building. Firefighters found the car fully engulfed and extinguished the fire.

Another car and vinyl siding on 27A Appleton St., was also damaged by the fire. Investigators found a cinder block resting on the driver's seat and a cap from a gas can near the building. Believing the fire was suspicious, police called the State Fire Marshall's Office to investigate.

The owner of the vehicle, Richard Bursey, who is registered as a Level 3 sex offender, told police he heard a crash and looked outside to find his car's hood on fire.

Bursey told police he has not had any recent conflicts with anyone. "It's under investigation. We are following up on a ..more.. : by Les Masterson/ Staff Writer

Convicted sexual predator finds no post-prison solace: Self-professed 'monster' has been ostracized, bullied

7-27-2003 Multi-States Michigan to New Mexico:

This is the worst case of mass multi-state hysteria and stalking, initiated and fueled by a Michigan Prosecutor (Bill Forsyth, Kent County, Mich., prosecutor), in which the police, the public and even the Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Martin Chavez took part: The David Seibers story.
.ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- From the crest of his property in the Sandia Mountains, David Siebers can look out at the scrub pine and cactus of New Mexico's high desert. It is a desolate land, dry and remote, where a man could get lost -- or hide. For 10 months, the press chased the Michigan man across the country. Someone slashed his tires. Someone else kicked in his ribs. Police followed him around the clock. Churchgoing parents held signs telling him to "go back where you came from -- Hell." And here, where he retreated into the mountains, they burned down his home.

"I understand their concern," said Siebers, standing on the cement foundation where his home once stood. "I'm America's No. 1 monster." The soft-spoken Grand Rapids man served more than 20 years in Michigan prisons for a series of violent sex crimes. FBI profilers think he will commit more. So far, the only crimes committed have been against Siebers. The balding 45-year-old has become a symbol of the strengths and weaknesses of the nation's sex-offender registry laws and the moral quicksand surrounding a bad man to whom bad things are being done. When has a person paid the price for past crimes? How far should parents go to protect their children? Where does a man go when he's not wanted anywhere? Questions of civil rights and justice have different answers when a sexual predator lives next door.

Prisoner No. 162811 packed methodically, stowing 10 years of life into two foot lockers. "All I wanted was to start a life," Siebers said later. "My grand intention was to be average." To Bill Forsyth, Siebers was far from average. The Kent County, Mich., prosecutor glared at an FBI report warning that Siebers would commit more crimes. It was a thought that made Forsyth shudder. "I've convicted (people of) some pretty heinous crimes, but none of them have bothered me like these," Forsyth said. Siebers had been a star at Northview High School in Grand Rapids, lettering in track and cross country and being named Outstanding Senior Chemistry Student.

But by age 22, things had gone wrong. Facing marital and financial difficulties, "he snapped," said Dr. Robert Krangle, who has befriended Siebers in recent months in New Mexico. "He snapped bad." In August 1979, Siebers walked into a Get It and Go grocery store in Grand Rapids, pointing a gun at a frightened female clerk. Siebers took money from the cash register, then raped the clerk. More horrors followed. At a Wendy's restaurant, he allegedly ordered four employees into a back room, forced them to undress and raped one of the women. During another robbery, he allegedly sexually assaulted a female employee while holding a gun on the male workers.