He was physically attracted to them but resented their authority. It was a more difficult day for the family.. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. He wasn't the type to knock on a neighbor's door or start up a sidewalk conversation; instead, he enjoyed tending to his building's property, mowing the front lawn and clearing trash from the alley and sidewalk. Sweatt admitted to setting that fire and killing Bessie Mae Duncan in a letter to me late last year. In 2005, Thomas Sweatt was arrested and eventually confessed to more than 340 arson-set fires that killed four people. Virginia officials called in members of the arson task force, who had never thought they'd need to travel west of the Potomac River in the course of the investigation. He died in June 1972, in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee . I raced home to watch the news and was sadden about the fatality but was fascinated by this huge fire. The rest of the letters had been destroyed in the fire.The remnants of a fire set days later let them piece together the entire line: "MADE IN CHINA FOR CORNELIUS SHOPPING BAG COMPANY," a bag outfit in Richmond. Some people use guns, knives, etc. "We started to think, 'What if we we're missing fires?'" 1 a ; ; . A light snow . He appeared to be an average working schlub, a loyal KFC employee with only minor, long-ago brushes with the law. (A linear pattern, for instance, would tell you to look into local deliverymen with criminal pasts.) "Thomas Sweatt: Inside the Mind of D.C.'s Most Notorious Arsonist" i. s also available in # ebook format. BT4620. @2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Even though the cloth from the slacks had been burned and charred, the technician was able to extract a trace amount of DNA that, for some reason, never succumbed to the heat.The DNA from the apartment fire matched the DNA taken from the attempted fire at the boys' house on Anacostia Avenue in D.C. At the task force headquarters there was a brief spell of euphoria. But it is what it is and life goes on. The ATF National Laboratory Center identified the arsonist's signature device, which was carried to the scene in a distinct plastic bag. He was linked to the fires through DNA evidence found at two scenes where a fingerprint, some skin cells on a wick and a single hair all matched his genetic profile. He is a past Lieutenant with the Washington DC Fire Department and past Chief of the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department. Sweatt was a fry cook and later the manager of a Washington fast food restaurant. Investigators named him the "most prolific and dangerous serial arsonist in American history." Dozens of authors, TV producers, and movie producers tried to contact Thomas in prison but were all unsuccessful. On January 11, 1985, Sweatt finished his late shift as a cook at one of the Roy Rogers Restaurants and followed a male stranger in his 30s, whom he found attractive, to his house. Sweatt, a bachelor, started his regular walk home alone in the cold after the restaurant closed. I was 50 years old with about 15 years service. "It gives you a great feeling for 24 hours," Daley says, "but then the next day, it's like, 'What's his name? Sweatt pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to various counts: possession of destructive devices; destruction of buildings by fire resulting in personal injury; possession of destructive devices in furtherance of a crime of violence; and in the criminal information originally filed in the District of Columbia, first-degree premeditated murder (felony murder) and second-degree murder, resulting in a mandatory life sentence before the same judge on September 12, 2005. Through years of research and combing through several hundred letters written by Tom, Jonathan Riffe has put together this in-depth, never-seen-before biography of the man named the most prolific and dangerous serial arsonist inAmerican history. Behind the mask of this crazy, perverted, demented, killer serial arsonist is Thomas Sweatt, an African American homosexual loner in his late fifties who worked at various fast-food joints throughout his lifetime and turned Washington, DC, upside down into a living hell. After he agreed to complete a court-ordered diversion program, the government dropped its case). Sweatt found a thrill in walking among the agents who were hunting him, his ego satisfied knowing he was always a step ahead. When I shook Cheryl's hand, I realized she couldn't have forgotten it if she tried -- she still bore the burn marks on her forearms. In an industry with an astronomical turnover rate -- the average fast-food worker quits or gets fired within four months -- Sweatt would devote a rather astonishing 12 years to the same KFC location, most of it spent hovering over the grill and grease fryers and struggling to keep the kitchen clean.New employees at the KFC found a cook manning an immaculate station. This case was filed in Orange County Superior Courts, Central Justice Center located in Orange, California. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thomas Sweatt: Inside the Mind of D.C.'s Most Notorious Arsonist, Welcome to Thomas Sweatt: Inside the Mind of D.C.'s Most Notorious Arsonist. Longtime friends Sarah Harris and Morgan O'Brien sit down weekly to explore true crime and murder, so grab your headphones and binge with us! None died, but several were hurt. Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera, Give Me Everything - He never explained why. Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer. The lab determined that DNA from the pants matched the DNA found at the other fire scenes. On my off days I would work at the apts. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. Trying to reconcile these two people would be the fundamental crisis of his life. Sweatt had boarded in cheap rooms all over town before he settled there in 1992. Smiths Medical. Then he would order the matching leather shoes to go with it. [There's no cigarette] left burning. People would visit and say "Wow, this is a huge aptment and nicely decorated. He is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. . "It's amazing that I remember that phrase.It's etched in my memory." 8 Visits. Thomas Sweatt, 50, a fast food store manager from the District . The more Rodney read, the more assured he was that Sweatt was the man the detective had told him about. ***Southeast wasn't a bad place for a firebug to live. Then when darkness fall it was the other person living inside of meOnce Sweatt moved to Lebaum Street, the neighborhood started burning. He just stood outside, alone in the rain, missing his chance to pay his respects to the dead.There was only 1 death, he wrote, so I left it at that.Sweatt may have followed the aftermath of his fires diligently, but in that last matter he was mistaken. Not the right Thomas? "I still have a million questions for him," says Bob Luckett, a fire investigator who spent several days with Sweatt after his arrest. One of the most prolific arsonists in American history, Sweatt set over 350 fires in and around Washington, D.C., most of which occurred in 2003 and 2004. This article was published more than4 years ago. Her neighborhood reminded me of the Birtchwood Community off Livingston Rd in Oxxon Hill Md. Behind the mask of this crazy, perverted, demented, killer serial arsonist is Thomas Sweatt, an African American homosexual loner in his late fifties who worked at various fast-food joints throughout his lifetime and turned Washington, DC, upside down into a living hell. The barbershop rebounded, but when Sweatt tired of the addicts who took to hanging on the block, he torched it again.There were lots of barbershops and carryouts as well as Gas stations. Investigators couldn't believe that Sweatt had set his first fire in March 2003 and then graduated to murder in June -- now the timeline was blown wide open. We talk about all things from his constant masturbation, his obsession with patent leather shoes, and how he was eventually caught . Find out where Thomas Sweatt was born, their birthday and details about their professions, education, religion, family and other life details and facts. In 2005, Thomas Sweatt was arrested and eventually confessed to over 340 arson-set fires that killed 4 people. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to the George Washington University Hospital, where she was admitted in serious condition. Of course I see Evart St each and every night, he wrote, in reference to the fire that killed Jones. The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. There's still hope for us all no matter where we are -- This old mortal body will soon be no more but the soul will go to heaven or hail. _____ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https . "It's Thomas Sweatt," she said. The lab work linked four of the fires for certain, and another 15 recent fires were deemed similar-looking.Victims appeared to have nothing to do with one another. (Rodney knew this as well as Sweatt did, since he visited the vacant house whenever he was in D.C.) And there was another detail that Sweatt offered independent of the Post report -- the funeral for Bessie Mae Duncan, which Sweatt claimed was at McGuire Funeral Service on Georgia Avenue, near the Maryland line. A federal judge would eventually sentence him to two lifetimes plus 136 years for his crimes. That place was distroyed by fire and they move a few block down across the street from a fire station. Thomas A. Sweatt is a convicted serial arsonist. What could possibly be determined with confidence in a gutted house in a matter of just a few hours? View Thomas Sweatt results in Texas (TX) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. That was all Rodney knew -- the detective never told him the full story. Add to Cart. The second incident occurred at approximately 4:30am on June 5, 2003. If that man was their firesetter, investigators imagined he was lonesome, anxiety-ridden, and hobbled by a deep sense of failure. He was that unique to the world. The other was that of a lonesome and violent obsessive who never shared his unspeakable urges with anyone. In 2003 and 2004, an arsonist in the DC area went on a fire-starting spree. I regret this fire because it was an elder man reside there. ***Investigators knew from the bags left behind at the fire scenes that the arsonist shopped at convenience stores. Thomas Sweatt, a restaurant manager, would later be known as DC's worst serial arsonist, responsible for several fatal arson cases spanning nearly thirty years. Investigators had hoped the blaze was accidental. These items went to the Montgomery County crime lab, where a lab technician pulled off what her new colleagues at the ATF considered a feat of forensic science. He later admitted to a lot more fires during a proffer session with the arson task force as part . Thomas E Sweatt Jr. has two current phone numbers. A woman and her two daughters were forced to sprint through the flames to escape. Gasoline itself doesn't burn -- its vapors do. Following his arrest in April 2005, Sweatt admitted to setting fires for more than 30 years. I wonder if he still have thoseYou asked were there any special relationships while living on Lebaum St? The only things that were revealed in the episode were that he set the fires to silence "voices" that he heard and to "relieve stress". I think about this house the most because its where a death occurred and that was not my intentions (but knew that all the fires there would be risky for human life). Instead, it'd make me want to go out and do evil stuff like setting something afireOn days off from work he would read do-it-yourself books. He admitted to killing not only Lou Edna Jones but another elderly woman named Annie Brown, 89, who'd died of smoke inhalation in a February 2002 fire in Northeast. You'd think we were exhausted, but he looked worse. He would go on to torch Washington steadily for another 20 years, and he would claim more lives than Duncan's before his arrest in April 2005. Or maybe he just never forgot the D.C. officers who mocked his soft voice when he took their orders at KFC.Whatever it was that he loved and despised in cops, he saw it in their squad cars. He sometimes lingered at the scenes of fires he'd set himself, capturing footage with his camera. 20 years in the making, the 1971 Titans are inducted into the ACPS Hall of Fame. In 2013, Fulkerson spoke to the International Association of Arson Investigators in Las Vegas and used Sweatt as a case study in solving tough crimes. Thank you. Investigators named him the "most prolific and dangerous serial arsonist in American history." Dozens of authors, TV producers, and movie producers tried to contact Thomas in prison but were all unsuccessful. So from 1993-2005) I was promoted from Cook to allstar, to Shif Supervisor, Assistant Manger, Unit manager. The city was classifying more than 200 fires per year as acts of arson as far back as the early '90s, compared with about a third of that number today.After he bought a used Toyota in 2001, Sweatt started to venture beyond Southeast. (The Jones family never learned why the arsonist chose their home.) He now had access to all the streets of Northeast, where he worked, as well as the cozy, tree-lined middle-class neighborhoods of Prince George's County, which became favorite stomping grounds.There was one fire at Southview Dr Md. Sweat has extensive experience in Heart Conditions, Cardiac Electrical System Procedures, and Adult Congenital Heart Conditions. "I know four other guys who had their cars burned," Powell says of his Metro colleagues. I never probably will learn the reason whyI trusted others judgements and decisions over mine. Ive been to thousands of fires, but theres some that just stand out in your mind. Story: When Thomas Sweatt saw an attractive man, he would follow him home, but instead of talking to the object of his affection, Sweatt would set fire to the man's house or car. He actually arrived on the scene before the firetruck did -- this would be just a matter of minutes after the fire started -- and investigators managed to shut down the surrounding blocks and canvass the area as the fire burned. Each fire was like doing the first time and I'd always take deep breaths and ask the Lord to forgive me for what I'm about to doEach one was special in its own way.***In the spring of 2003, Sweatt paid a price for his jurisdiction-hopping. When we had church meeting in our home, I can still picture this one memberstanding outside in the backyard congregating with others. His fantasies encompassed all kinds of civil servants who wore uniforms: Police officers, firefighters, even bus drivers. He wanted to know if Sweatt had seen anything. April 30, 2019 at 2:14 p.m. EDT. I like barbershops because there were always attractive men there -- crazy as it may sound, I had a fascination for barbers.Throughout the '80s and '90s, Sweatt lit scores of fires throughout the eastern side of the city. That's so sad.Those demons are still in me. Investigators started to think their arsonist was a jarhead. Jail cant be any worst than the life I had then and believe it or not life is pretty much the same, it just I'm not free to go wherever I want to.The investigators who debriefed Sweatt after his arrest were floored by his recall of years-old blazes, which almost invariably squared with official reports and witness accounts. He burned the neighborhood carryout and the neighborhood laundromat. The shorts are written by Eric Branscum, and the series features the UK voice cast in both . He had emotional reactions to the newscasts, lashing out at residents who told reporters offhandedly that the arsonist needed mental help. )I liked the attention from setting fires; the Blue + red lights flashing from the firetrucks + police cars, the rushing of firefighters hooking up the hoses to put out the flames and people gathered to watch.They were in arms length to arrest me. Stymied local fire officials needed help. Following his April 2005 arrest, Sweatt admitted to setting fires for more than twenty years. He graduated from UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE in 1989. In a 2007 article, Sweatt told Washington City Paper that he had been walking home from his job that January day and passed Picott walking in the other direction. He briefly considered getting out of his car to save the boy, but the fire engine was already barreling toward the blaze. zodiac: Aquarius. In the early morning hours of Jan. 11, 1985, Thomas Sweatt, a 30-year-old fry cook, finished his late shift at a Roy Rogers and stepped out onto Florida Avenue NE. He was known as one of the better KFC cooks in the metro area.That fact didn't impress many people, but it meant a lot to Sweatt. Or in case of some house fires -- I might like a particular style of a house and wish one day to own it (but it's only a dream). Mines was more of choosing the person for crazy reason, like "ooh he has a nice funky walk" or maybe enjoy their companionship but don't come by often. The Laboratory provided valuable forensic leads, including the fact that the same suspect was probably responsible for 14 of the initial fires. Finally, he asked him point blank: "Did you set the fires? '"About a year ago, a D.C.-area detective had reached out to Rodney. He reported false fires on his block just to bring the engines out. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day service at St. James A.M.E. Zion Church in Allentown marked a day of celebration and reflection. That morning it parked right beside me and the operater look at me, shut his door and walked away, (not knowing that's the last time he'd drive that pretty sorta hot rod like ride. He is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. From his prison cell, he confided to Jamieson in long handwritten letters details of his crimes and the motives behind them. Isn't that a wonderful thought? I don't look to have a romantic relationship as a normal human being would -- love, roses + red wine sort of thing. Or should I say, just easy to be persuaded?I have trouble explaining why I do certain things. Taking into account various assets, Thomas's net worth is greater than $50,000 - $99,999; and makes between $60 - 69,999 a year. Most of these experiences ended violently. ***How intoxicating that must have been for Sweatt, to manipulate investigators like that. Fulkerson said he told the investigators at the seminar, You may have a serial arsonist in your jurisdiction and you dont know it yet. The ATF agent said he tells other investigators that suspects like Sweatt can be coaxed out of silence through feigned admiration.