Introduction to the Billy Middleton case

[Chris_Halkides]

"He [Stuart Mortimore] said: 'The hall had been subjected to a relatively sustained fire. The only evidence of fire damage was under the stairs.'"  I am having trouble reconciling these two sentences with each other.

The same article continued, "He ruled out the hall fire sparking the blaze in the bedroom. And he claimed the possibility of electrical items causing the fire was 'extremely remote'."  This raises an obvious question, namely, whether or not the bedroom fire could have sparked the hallway fire.

There is nothing in this article nor any other that I have read which discussed ignition sources or hydrocarbon or other accelerants.

[Myster]

So it is. Am guessing the ‘Gray’ building is this place https://www.jwgray.co.uk/

I don't quite follow... where's this reference to the Gray building?

[Nicholas]

I don't quite follow... where's this reference to the Gray building?

On the last google link you posted - to the left hand side of the house, down the road, near the water - ‘Gray & co’

[Nicholas]

Was this Middleton's house, 1 Burgadale, Brae. which got on fire?...

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.3984351,-1.3479636,3a,48.8y,311.7h,81.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srE_6aO16GHrZt7zKNVJEdQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Burgadale,+Brae,+Shetland+ZE2+9SR/@60.3989378,-1.3515666,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x489ee55b9ff8ba49:0x174c58518170f3a5!8m2!3d60.3985324!4d-1.3481548

I completely missed the address details in the article I posted here - the ‘dead cat’ report distracted me

Nothing was ever said by Billy Middleton about the cat either - never

https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2009/03/09/man-goes-on-trial-accused-of-murdering-baby-daughter

“The court heard that Middleton was rescued from the house during the fire on September 20 last year but his baby daughter Annalise was pronounced dead at the scene.

Independent fire investigator Stuart Mortimore said an investigation found that two separate fires had been started “deliberately” in the hall and ground floor bedroom.

He said: “The hall had been subjected to a relatively sustained fire. The only evidence of fire damage was under the stairs.”

He ruled out the hall fire sparking the blaze in the bedroom. And he claimed the possibility of electrical items causing the fire was “extremely remote”.

He said the bottom of the bedroom curtains had been destroyed which was consistent with fire being ignited and set against the curtain.

His investigations also found that fire spreading from the hallway would have caused damage to the ceiling of the room.

However, the 55-year-old said: “Mr Middleton was reportedly found on the bed in the bedroom. Neither he nor his clothes exhibited heat damage.”

Mr Mortimore said that a dead cat was found in one of the upstairs bedrooms during the investigation.

He told the court the local authority owned house had suffered extensive fire damage, particularly on the ground floor.

He said: “When two fires are started at the same time, the only explanation is that the fires were started deliberately.

“These fires are separate and distinct. Deliberate ignition is the only likely cause for these fires.”

Advocate depute Jock Thomson asked: “Both fires in your conclusion were deliberately set?”

Mr Mortimore replied: “Yes.”

[Nicholas]

"He [Stuart Mortimore] said: 'The hall had been subjected to a relatively sustained fire. The only evidence of fire damage was under the stairs.'"  I am having trouble reconciling these two sentences with each other.

The same article continued, "He ruled out the hall fire sparking the blaze in the bedroom. And he claimed the possibility of electrical items causing the fire was 'extremely remote'."  This raises an obvious question, namely, whether or not the bedroom fire could have sparked the hallway fire.

There is nothing in this article nor any other that I have read which discussed ignition sources or hydrocarbon or other accelerants.

Did you know about the cat Chris?

I only recall the story about the rabbits

[Myster]

"He [Stuart Mortimore] said: 'The hall had been subjected to a relatively sustained fire. The only evidence of fire damage was under the stairs.'"  I am having trouble reconciling these two sentences with each other.

The same article continued, "He ruled out the hall fire sparking the blaze in the bedroom. And he claimed the possibility of electrical items causing the fire was 'extremely remote'."  This raises an obvious question, namely, whether or not the bedroom fire could have sparked the hallway fire.

There is nothing in this article nor any other that I have read which discussed ignition sources or hydrocarbon or other accelerants.

It depends what he meant by fire damage.  Burnt wood of the staircase underside, strings or treads?  Smoke-stained plaster under the staircase?  You really need a plan of the house to figure it out, I think.

[Nicholas]

It depends what he meant by fire damage.  Burnt wood of the staircase underside, strings or treads?  Smoke-stained plaster under the staircase?  You really need a plan of the house to figure it out, I think.

Can we find a plan of the house ?

[Myster]

Can we find a plan of the house ?

You might be able to... you find everything else! 

[Myster]

You might be able to... you find everything else! 

There's a similar house, 8 Gossaford, Brae. for sale on the same estate with some interior views and plans here...

http://www.anderson-goodlad.com/property-sale/8-gossaford/

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.3986836,-1.3489235,3a,75y,35.33h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk7JUw5K87mjpSSuvwFv5Pg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Nicholas]

There's a similar house, 8 Gossaford, Brae. for sale on the same estate with some interior views and plans here...

http://www.anderson-goodlad.com/property-sale/8-gossaford/

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.3986836,-1.3489235,3a,75y,35.33h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk7JUw5K87mjpSSuvwFv5Pg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

There are photos available somewhere on the forum - possibly in hidden threads ? Don’t know if you have access to them or if you’ll need to message Admin or John

[Admin]

Was this Middleton's house, 1 Burgadale, Brae. which got on fire?...

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.3984351,-1.3479636,3a,48.8y,311.7h,81.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srE_6aO16GHrZt7zKNVJEdQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Burgadale,+Brae,+Shetland+ZE2+9SR/@60.3989378,-1.3515666,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x489ee55b9ff8ba49:0x174c58518170f3a5!8m2!3d60.3985324!4d-1.3481548

Yes

https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2009/03/13/baby-showed-no-signs-of-life-after-fire-murder-trial-hears

[Nicholas]

19th April 2009 ‘Fury as dad of Annalise Middleton sets up website for wrongly accused’
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fury-as-dad-of-annalise-middleton-sets-1019199

billy middleton
@wronglyaccuseds
1 May 2011
Do you accept the manipulation of child witnesses to achieve a knowingly wrongful conviction of another? http://gopetition.com/petitions/safeguard-child-witnesses.html… via
@GoPetition

119 signatures https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/safeguard-child-witnesses.html

billy middleton
@wronglyaccuseds
13 Jun 2009
Arranging meeting with legal representatives and generally not having the time I need to do what needs done!

https://mobile.twitter.com/wronglyaccuseds

[Nicholas]

Billy Middleton’s first ever tweet on twitter (using his actual name)

billy middleton
@wronglyaccuseds
13 Jun 2009
Arranging meeting with legal representatives and generally not having the time I need to do what needs done!

https://mobile.twitter.com/wronglyaccuseds

11th June 2009 - To admin@wronglyaccusedperson.org.uk

Hi Billy, I have been given your website details by Sandra Lean who wrote about my husband Simon in her book 'No Smoke'. She thought it a good idea that I get in touch with you as you may be able to offer Simon and myself help in bringing him home.

This is his 2nd tweet

billy middleton
@wronglyaccuseds
11 Jul 2009
Adding related products to the site's pages to help fund our activities.

[Chris_Halkides]

I heard that the cat died.  Was there something else?

The passage on Mr. Mortimore's testimony that is quoted upthread is similar to others that I have read.  Mr. Mortimore offered only conclusions, not the supporting information.  As I indicated nothing that Mr. Mortimore said explains why the fire could not have started in the bedroom and moved to the hall.  Nor is it obvious that Mr. Mortimore correctly identified the location where the fire started within the bedroom.  As I said before, this is much more difficult to do once a fire reaches flashover and continues to burn.  In another article that I read he said that he worked via process of elimination.  This is not always wrong, but it has a dubious history in fire investigations.  For some discussion on this point see this link:  https://sealimited.com/uploads/source/News_Events/IDQ-2015-02-Watson.pdf

[Chris_Halkides]

I have been reading a chapter in the book Forensic Science Reform written by John Lentini.  Mr. Lentini quoted a portion of NFPA [National Fire Protection Association] 921:

24.2.1.2 Separate fires that are not caused by multiple deliberate ignitions can result from the following:
1.  fire spread by conduction, convection, or radiation
2.  fire spread by flying brands
3.  fire spread by direct flame impingement
4.  fire spread by falling flaming materials (i.e.m drop-down), such as curtains
5.  fire spread through shafts, such as pipe chases or air conditioning ducts
6.  fire spread within wall or floor cavities within “balloon construction’
7.  overloaded electrical wiring
8.  utility system failures
9.  lightning
10. rupture and launching of aerosol containers

Mr. Lentini goes on to discuss the case of Han Tak Lee, who was convicted of setting a 1989 fire that was alleged to have nine separate points of origin.  He was released in 2014 after it became clear that the testimony against him was fundamentally flawed.  For one thing the room was fully involved, meaning that it had reached flashover.

I have read several news reports covering Mr. Mortimore's testimony.  There is simply not enough information to verify whether or not he eliminated all other possibilities.  Nor is there even a hint that anyone tested for an accelerant using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.