Episode 104

Survivor Stories: An Interview with Shawn Simons & Alvaro Llanos

In this special Survivor Stories episode, we step away from case analysis and into lived experience.

We’re joined by Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, two survivors of the Seton Hall University dorm fire—a tragedy that claimed three lives and forever changed many others.

This is not a retelling of the case.

This is what it was like to be there.

Shawn and Alvaro share their memories from that night, the moments leading up to the fire, the chaos that followed, and the long road of recovery in the years since. Their story is one of survival, resilience, and the lasting impact of a fire that should never have happened.

In the years since, they have dedicated themselves to advocacy—sharing their story to promote fire safety awareness, encourage resilience, and help prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Through their outreach efforts, they’ve worked to improve fire safety on college campuses and ensure that the lessons from Seton Hall are not forgotten.

Out of respect for our guests and the weight of their experience, this episode is presented without mid-roll interruptions.

We’re honored to share their voices with you.

Follow Shawn and Alvaro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvaroandshawn/

Book Shawn and Alvaro to speak or hear more about their story: https://www.alandshawn.com/

Find the book of Shawn and Alvaro's experience and recovery on their website or purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0hnK67Ae

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at crimetoburn@gmail.com We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.

Episode 103

Across Massachusetts, a series of fires began targeting places tied to faith and patriotism — Protestant churches, American Legion halls, and other community institutions closely associated with “God and country.”

From the beginning, investigators knew they were dealing with arson.

At scene after scene, the same method appeared: windows smashed to gain entry, gasoline used as an accelerant, and fires intentionally set inside the buildings. The pattern was obvious, but proving the same person was responsible for all of them was another matter entirely.

For a long time, investigators had little more than the method of operation linking the fires together.

Then the suspect made a mistake.

At one scene, a hammer was left behind — a small piece of evidence that investigators were able to connect to another fire through forensic analysis. It was the first physical link tying two of the crimes together.

But even then, most of the fires remained connected only by pattern, timing, and method.

The investigation would continue until the suspect was finally caught in the act, bringing an end to a string of arsons that had targeted both houses of worship and patriotic institutions across the state.

In this episode of Crime to Burn, we break down the investigation, the forensic evidence, and how investigators ultimately stopped a serial firestarter.

Buy Burn Boston Burn by Wayne M. Miller: https://a.co/d/ipCuGL2

Buy Bang Boom Burn by Wayne M. Miller: https://a.co/d/a2EACYf

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at crimetoburn@gmail.com We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.

SOURCES:

• Miller, Wayne M. Bang Boom Burn: Explosive True Crime Gun, Bombing, and Arson Cases from a Federal Agent’s Career. AuthorHouse, 2021. ISBN 978-1-7333403-5-9.
• Hardiman, Thomas, et al. Dr. Thomas Hardiman, Affiliated Foot Care, PC, Plaintiffs, v. United States of America, Defendant. Available at: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914f558add7b0493498a0b6
• Kocsis, R. N. (2004). Psychological Profiling of Serial Arson Offenses: An Assessment of Skills and Accuracy. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 31(3), 341–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854803262586
• Patriot Ledger Staff. (2010, October 6). Prosecutor: Plymouth arsonist wanted to go back to jail. The Patriot Ledger. https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2010/10/06/prosecutor-plymouth-arsonist-wanted-to/40167801007/

Episode 100

In Part 2 of Domestic Detonation, we move deeper into the investigation and unravel how a domestic violence case escalated into a coordinated bombing plot that nearly claimed multiple lives.

As investigators began connecting the devices, forensic evidence and witness testimony painted a chilling picture of planning, coercion, and control — revealing just how far one person was willing to go to keep a partner from leaving.

We explore the forensic evidence that helped build the case, including tool mark comparisons, and discuss the strengths and limitations of these techniques in the broader context of modern forensic science.

We also walk through the critical moments that prevented additional bombs from being delivered, highlighting how coordination between investigators and rapid communication helped stop further attacks before they could occur.

This case is a stark reminder of how domestic violence can escalate and how manipulation and coercive control can lead to extreme violence.

Buy Burn Boston Burn by Wayne M. Miller: https://a.co/d/ipCuGL2

Buy Bang Boom Burn by Wayne M. Miller: https://a.co/d/a2EACYf

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at crimetoburn@gmail.com We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.

• Miller, Wayne M. Bang Boom Burn: Explosive True Crime Gun, Bombing, and Arson Cases from a Federal Agent’s Career. AuthorHouse, 2021. ISBN 978-1-7333403-5-9.

• Craig, Gary. “Christmas package bomber who killed 5 in New York dies in prison.” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Updated Nov. 14, 2024.

• “His mouth got him in trouble.” Associated Press, published in The Roanoke Times, Dec. 31, 1993 (Virginia Tech newspaper archive).

• United States of America v. Michael T. Stevens, 83 F.3d 60 (2d Cir. 1996). Justia.

• Van Biema, David. “Death on Delivery.” TIME. Jan. 10, 1994.

• “A Conviction in Case of 5 Deaths by Bombs.” The New York Times. Apr. 1, 1995. (Accessed via Murderpedia; direct link not captured.)

• “Jury Is Seated in Upstate Mail Bombing.” The New York Times. Mar. 7, 1995. (Accessed via Murderpedia; direct link not captured.)

• Van Gelder, Lawrence. “Plea Bargain in Mail Bombings That Killed 5 Upstate.” The New York Times. Feb. 9, 1995. (Accessed via Murderpedia; direct link not captured.)

• “How Detectives Caught the New York Serial Bomber.” Real Responders (YouTube). Posted Feb. 24, 2020.

• “N.Y. bombing plot may have taken shape as long as year ago.” Tampa Bay Times. Published Jan. 2, 1994; updated Oct. 6, 2005.

Episode 98

In 1999, Garland “Butch” Martin was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Marcia Poole, and her two young children, Brady and Kristin, and was sentenced on three counts of capital murder in Midland, Texas. The State told a compelling story: domestic abuse, accelerant-driven fire, pre-fire blunt force trauma, and motive. A jury believed it.

Twenty-four years later, Butch Martin was exonerated.

In Part Two of this two-part series, April breaks down what the jury didn’t hear: conflicting fire science, flawed forensic anthropology testimony, discarded physical evidence, and the physics of fire that contradict the State’s entire arson-murder theory. We examine the defense, the appellate process, modern NFPA-aligned fire investigation principles, and how the work of Dr. Gerald Hurst and John Lentini unraveled the narrative.

Because before you can call something arson-murder, you have to prove arson — and in this case, there is zero credible evidence that this fire was intentionally set.

In this episode we cover:

• The defense’s accidental fire theory

• Conflicting chemical analysis (Norpar & “deparaffinated kerosene”)

• What Dr. Gerald Hurst and John Lentini found years later

• Why NFPA 921 rejects “pour pattern” folklore

• The missing extension cord and freezer on the back porch

• 40 mph winds and the physics problem for the State’s origin theory

• Cerebral edema vs. “blunt force trauma”

• Anthropologist vs. medical examiner expertise boundaries

• The appellate court’s reasoning for exoneration

• How wrongful arson convictions keep happening

When you strip away mythology and examine only evidence, this case collapses. Every credible data point points to an accidental fire — and an innocent man lost 24 years of his life.

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at crimetoburn@gmail.com We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.

Sources: Please see the source list from Episode 97.