Who would want to murder you . And i just kind of looked at him like, what . I couldnt believe it. Was he watching me . That fire was set. Very calculating. Years before his wife killed herself. Yes. He claimed she committed suicide days before she was due to give birth to her first child. She was extremely excited for that baby. She wanted to be a mom. This wasnt somebody thinking about suicide. Exactly. It made me wonder was he a murderer . You are trying to prove a very old murder with pretty much no evidence. Correct. Is he kind of gloating he got away with it . He is thinking, well, catch me if you can. We are going to do her and her family justice. We are going to solve this murder. Hello, and welcome to dateline. Meg purk was a young mom to be, over the moon to be having her first child. Then, just days before her due date, she died of an apparent suicide. Her family struggled to understand why, but in a strange twist, a house fire set decades later would point to a possible answer and put investigators on a trail towards the truth. Here is Josh Mankiewicz with secrets from the grave. Wander through any graveyard, and you will find them, mysteries etched in stone. Lives cut tragically short by war, disease, misfortune, and sometimes murder. Many who rest in these peaceful places took secrets to their graves. But some here are mainly awaiting. Waiting for someone to take interest and ask questions. As you are about to see, the dead can be exceedingly patient. Our story begins on a Frigid March Night in 2009, with a house fire in stow, ohio. That fire was important. Not for what it destroyed, but for what it illuminated. 911, wheres your emergency . Its uniondale drive. There is a fire. The house, or what . The house. The caller was a 16yearold girl who told the 911 operator that she, her parents, and her younger brother had all escaped, but barely. And then her father took the phone. I dont really understand. It the entire front of our house is just engulfed. Okay. Im glad everybody got out. That dad was scott purk. You will be hearing a lot about him. Purk said his family had been sound asleep when he heard a loud boom. It was like we heard an explosion. Oh, you did . Yeah. And thats what woke us up. Its real cold at the moment. Purk said he scrambled to get everyone up and out. By the time the first fire units rolled up, the purk home was a roaring bonfire. Firefighters smelled gasoline as soon as they got out of their trucks. So a call immediately went out to Stow Police Detective ken mifflin. When i got there, i saw the Fire Department still putting out the blaze. Someone had taken probably a pipe wrench to disconnect the gas line. And it was blowing out natural gas. It was a very large roaring sound. At that point, the gas hadnt ignited . No. It could have possibly blown up. The person who set the fire poured gasoline all the way to the gas meter and on top of the gas meter. The idea was fire starts, the gasoline goes to the gas main, and possibly destroys the house, and everybody in it . Absolutely. Mifflin found the purk family sheltered at a neighbor s house, and asked the father, scott purk, to step outside. We actually went over to my unmarked Detective Bureau car, and we sat in my car, where it was nice and warm. The first question is, who would want to burn down your house . Who are your enemies . Exactly, right. Scott said he really didnt have any. There was no one he knew that was so angry at him that would want to try to harm him or his family. So, the investigation basically took off from there. Perhaps it was the warm car on such a cold night, or maybe it was mifflins warm manner. Either way, scott purk was feeling chatty. He lost his job about eight or nine days prior to this. Things were not going well in his life. When asked how he and his wife tammy had spent the evening prior to the fire, purk responded with this little shocker. Scott and tammy are swingers. And they spent the evening basically apart because scott was at home, but tammy was out with a friend of hers. Another man . Tammy was with another man. She was dating their sons martial arts instructor, so she spent the evening with him, came home roughly 1 00 in the morning. Strange, sure. But scott purk was just getting started. Scott told you tammy brought him the leftovers from the dinner shed had with the guy she was seeing. Right. This is like, hey, you know, here, honey, here is some leftover Orange Chicken this other guy and i didnt eat. Right. Tammy went to bed first, and scott finished off the leftovers. No detail, it seemed, was too small or insignificant for scott purk. It was like turning a faucet on. Once you turned it on, he kept talking. I kept writing down the answers. At times, it was hard to keep up. Scott purk kept offering answers to questions the detective hadnt asked. And there seemed to be so much more he wanted to say. What Scott Purk Set next would leave investigators stunned. And wondering if he was more than just a distraught homeowner who liked to gab. Coming up hes doing almost everything he can to make himself sound like a suspect. Yes, exactly. As scott purk keeps talking, suspicion keeps mounting about this house on fire, and a burning secret. I was shocked, and it made me wonder, okay, now i need to look into this, and im looking at someone who i believe is an arsonists. Now, i am wondering okay, is he a murderer . When dateline continues. As the world keeps changing, so does covid19. Thats why this seasons covid19 shots have been updated. Theyre one of the best ways to help protect yourself against covid19. Learn more and schedule at vaccines. Gov air wick. 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Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. In 20 years with a badge, home of the xfinity 10g network. Detective ken mifflin had never encountered anyone quite like scott purk. As the two of them sat in his car watching purks home being reduced to ashes, purk kept talking. Same things he probably shouldnt have been saying to a cop who already suspected this fire was arson. He was heavily in debt and he made no bones about telling us that he had actually figured out if his house actually burned down, he would only owe about 70,000 in debt. Its essentially sing hinting im not gonna find anything hide anything. Youre gonna find out i am in debt. Right. Arson for insurance money . Too early to say, but a real possibility. He videotaped everything in his house. In case there was ever a fire. And he just did it recently and when i asked him how recent, he said, very recent. And he was doing almost everything he can to make himself sound like a suspect . Yes. Exactly. What was mr. Purk up to . A detective couldnt guess. Parked down the driveway, well away from the Burning Home Sat the purk family van. Cleaned up and ready for a road trip. According to scott, he and his son had been planning to visit family in north carolina. And what drew our attention was what he actually packed inside the van. Im guessing it was not stuff you would typically bring on vacation . All family photos. Cookbooks that had Family Recipes for generations in there. To which he could offer no explanation about why those or even in the van. It was a few days after the fire at scotts house that stows chief arson Investigation Called detected skin mifflin. And he says, youve got to hear this. So, he played me the 911 tape. Theres a fire. Mifflin heard something on that initial 911 call froms daughter. Something he wanted lt lidell to here to. During a lull, scott purk be heard calmly whispering to someone. Oh, god, you forgot the ferrett. Hes talking about a pet ferret and his tone seem to be more Rueful Oversight Van anguished alarm. That was a bit of a flag. Leading us to believe that there had been a plan anyways, all along. And add ins money woes and his admission that an insurance payout would clear most of his debt. And on the idea of scott purk as an arson lid suspect. Oh and mifflin wasnt finished. On the night of the fire, the detective tall lidlel. Had casually scott purk had tuck casually added a tantalizing detailed his life story. Scott just Out Of The Blue says to me, well, his first wife had committed suicide in 1985. She was pregnant, nine months pregnant. As if not only is my house in embers but this isnt even the worst thing that happened to me . I was shocked and it made me wonder, okay, now i need to look into this. Im looking at someone who believe he is an arsonists. Now im wondering, okay, was he a murderer . The two lawmen decided to pursue parallel investigations into scott purk. Lidel take lead on the arson case. Mifflin, the suicide. You guys know each other and you get along . He knows exactly what hes doing. We do work very well together. We have a great relationship. Mifflin his case had the highest hurdles. Not only had scott purks first wife, meg purk by 24 years earlier, but she had died in akron, only a few miles from stow. But a different jurisdiction. Whats it like to go to the akron police and say hey, im from a much Smaller Department but i think youve got this case wrong back in the mid 1980s . You had to approach it very carefully, but we have a good working relationship with the Police Department in akron. And you have to make the phone call. Instead of waving off this small town detective, the akron cops were willing to help. I talked to a detective who have dealt with in the past. He said, its not a cold case, its a closed case. If you want to have use your eyes to take a look at it, well send you a copy of the report. And he did. According to the original police report, meg purk was 24 years old and nine months pregnant on the day she died. Scott stated that the morning of march 18th, 1985, meg had woken up sick. Scott had made a doctors appointment for her to go see her doctor. Later that morning, scott said he was taking a bath when he saw meg walk past the bathroom door. He gets out of the bathtub, about four or five minutes later, and low and behold he sees meg hanging from a rope in the stairwell of their apartment. The story is that he cuts meg down and tries to do some cpr . Yes, once he saw meg hanging, then he grabbed a steak knife from one of the tables nearby and cut the rope, and then he started to do cpr. So, he calls for ems to respond and meets them at the door when they get there. Megs unborn baby, a boy, died at that same day. Meg lingered another 24 hours. She never regained consciousness. The detective had nothing he could test or examine. In fact, even the Police Photos from the scene had been tossed long ago. Still, nothing about scott purks version of the story felt right. Most women who are nine months pregnant and carry their child full term typically do not commit suicide. That was the first thing. Second thing was, he was in the apartment when his wife hung herself in a stairwell of their apartment. Most individuals do it by themselves with no one around. Both of those facts were available to the akron police back in 1985. They had their doubts that this was a truly a suicide. However, they just didnt have enough. Next, the detective examined the original Autopsy Photos. What did you see . What stood out in my mind from the Autopsy Photos was on megs neck there were lines on her neck that looked like a belt mark was on her neck, not a rope mark. The detective figured the only way to find out what had actually happened in that apartment in 1985, was to learn all he could about scott and meg purk. Coming up something disturbing about meg s past. There was an on the coffee table and it said that she had tried to hang herself. And something dark from scotts. He was a Ninja Burglar. The Ninja Burglar . He would actually commit burglaries dress up as a ninja. How many burglaries are we talking about . At least ten burglaries. He would come into your bedroom and what you sleep and then take your wallet or purse off your night stand. When dateline continues. S best for them. Ohh, ohh, ohh so ask your vet about new nexgard plus. Its oneanddone monthly protection from fleas and ticks, plus heartworm disease, roundworms, and hookworms. All in a delicious, beefflavored, soft chew. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. From the maker of 1 vetrecommended heartgard plus. 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Grampa, i love you. Never miss a moment again. You know rca. The quality is there. You cleared up decades of frustration in a second. Order now and well ship your pair of fda registered hearing aids in your choice of style with incredible savings. Pay as low as only 29 a month you get a 45day money back guarantee, free 24 7 us based support, a portable charging case, and Free Shipping. With rca, you can be hearing better in just days order yours now in the weeks after scott call this number or go to rcahearingaids. Com now purks house burned down, police in stow, ohio heard an earful from people who either knew him or knew of him. Him and his wife are swingers. They go to the holiday inn on route eight, and they have orgies and stuff. There is plenty of gossip and speculation and tip calls like this one, but occasionally, there was something new. His wife and child back in the eighties had been hit by a drunken driver. Remember, purk told the detective his first wife took her own life. Now, it seems he told at least one of his former lovers an entirely different story. He had told my girlfriend that he went over there and killed the guy, cut him up, and buried him. And shes like, oh, you know . They had sex, you know what i mean . And then hes confessing. The detective, of course, knew better. Scott purks first wife meg and their son died in akron, in 1985. Her death was suicide by hanging, according to the coroners report. 35 years later, megs memory is still fresh for dawn kracker. Dawn and meg were best buds in high school. She was quiet. People say shed remind them of janice joplin, in her hippie kind of bohemian attitude, but she was very much more reserved. Shed come into a room or something, and people just wanted to be with her. Meg had been a serious student back then, an amateur poet who managed to get several of her pieces published. Some of her poetry was a bit dark. Megs brother, michael metcalf. Sometimes about sadness or loss, even death. You ever read it and worry about her . Back then, no, not really. Dawn, who had known scott since first grade, told the detective he seemed like a model boyfriend to meg. He did everything exactly you would expect a good boyfriend to do. He opened doors for her, he took her out, he did everything, you know, you would expect from someone who is interested in somebody to do. Though meg was charmed, her family never warmed to scott. When they married in 1981, her family was not invited. They didnt run off and elope. We had a Wedding Ceremony in the area, and i guess a reception. But her family wasnt there . She knew how we felt. Nevertheless, meg was over the moon when she learned she was pregnant. As her due date approached, she wrote this letter to her grandmother, a letter she never got the chance to mail. Just think, any day now, you are going to be a great grandmother, and im going to be a mother. A mother its even hard for me to believe, but i am looking forward to it. Those did not sound like the words of someone thinking of suicide. She was ext