Page 2 - Workshop Jim News Today

>> firemen searched the area around the home, but there was no sign that jim had escaped. >> and i just thought my dad would come walking out, but, no. >> the longs home was attached to a workshop jim used to store the equipment for his tree-trimming business. it, too, was on fire. after the fire was put out, the firefighters cut through the metal siding. they found the body of 53-year-old jim long. jean was taken to the hospital where she was treated for minor scrapes and bruises. one of the br...

Home to call the fire department. at the fire scene, investigators found the remnants of the kerosene heater. but the plastic fuel can was found outside the workshop door, in perfect condition, inconsistent with jeans story. and major michael overbey believed that the position of jims body was inconsistent with most fire victims. >> it appeared his arms were outstretched and over his head. it appeared to me the way someone would be positioned if they had been dragged into a particular spot or ca...

James long had been lying on the floor and gasoline or accelerant had been poured over him intentionally and he had been set afire. >> and jims autopsy revealed even more evidence. he was unconscious before the fire started. [ male announcer ] every day, your mouth is building up layer upon layer of bacteria, so destroy these layers with listerine®. its unique formula penetrates these layers deeper than any other mouthwash. for a cleaner, healthier mouth, #1 dentist recommended listerine®. pow...

Long mistakenly filled the hot kerosene heater with gasoline, causing the explosion. jean frantically tried to put it out, and when she couldnt, she ran to call for help. at some point, jim struck his head on the workbench, which fractured his skull and caused his death. the defense offered no explanation for why jean locked the door on her way out of the house, except that it was force of habit, something she did every time she left the house. jean long, herself, took the stand in her own defen...

Marriage agreed. >> i was glad that he met someone and that he was happy and that he wasnt going to be alone. >> any time you seen jim, you seen jean. seen one, you seen both of them. they went everywhere together. >> and jean had no financial motive. jims life insurance amounted to less than $40,000. but local prosecutors were convinced this was an open-and-shut case. >> the theory was she saw the opportunity to get rid of him and poured him and lit it and then made it seem or tried to tell eve...

Kerosene heater with gasoline, causing the explosion. jean frantically tried to put it out, and when she couldnt, she ran to call for help. at some point, jim struck his head on the workbench, which fractured his skull and caused his death. the defense offered no explanation for why jean locked the door on her way out of the house, except that it was force of habit, something she did every time she left the house. jean long, herself, took the stand in her own defense. >> she came across as compl...

But in january 2003, there was an unusual cold snap, with temperatures below freezing. citrus growers used kerosene heaters to save their orange crop. jean and jim long used a kerosene heater in the workshop of their home so the pipes wouldnt freeze. but something went terribly wrong. when firemen arrived, the house was totally ablaze. jean long had escaped the fire. but her husband, jim, was trapped inside. >> my father-in-law came to the door to wake us. he said that -- he said theres a fire a...

>> with what container? >> it was red. >> yet, the red plastic fuel can was found outside the workshop. >> all right. how did it get back outside? >> i dont know. >> and overbey noticed that jims arms and legs were outstretched when he was found. underneath jims body were several aerosol cans. >> there was one under his head, there was one under his right leg and another one up under his back. and that appeared odd. that appeared, to me, something that could be used to accelerate the damage of t...

But lentini discovered that the workshop housed containers of fuel for jims tree-trimming equipment. >> in the shop, we had vehicles and we had tanks of acetylene. we had tanks of propane, we had containers of liquid fuels. >> you had chainsaws in there, lots of papers, clothing, lots of combustibles. and when it went up, it just really went up. >> and lentini disputed police claims that there were pour patterns around jims body. he said the heat of the fire made such a determination impossible....

>> in a panic, jean said she ran from the workshop into their home to call the fire department. at the fire scene, investigators found the remnants of the kerosene heater. but the plastic fuel can was found outside the workshop door, in perfect condition, inconsistent with jeans story. and major michael overbey believed that the position of jims body was inconsistent with most fire victims. >> it appeared his arms were outstretched and over his head. it appeared to me the way someone would be po...