SPRINGFIELD, IL – A suspected arsonist of a sober living home appears to be the ex-girlfriend of one of the men who lived in the home.
The State Journal-Register spoke with Morris Chrisman, who said he lived at the house at 550 S. State St. and that he called the authorities on Danielle Barkley, his ex-girlfriend who was arrested for arson.
The fire and the arrest happened on June 13.
Here’s what Chrisman said, as well as what an arrest report from the Springfield Police Department says about the alleged arson.
Police report details what led to the fire
A domestic disturbance was called in before the fire happened, according to the police report.
The caller, whose name is omitted from the report, said his or her ex-girlfriend, Danielle Barkley, was at 550 S. State Street and that she was tearing up things outside the house.
Recovered videos show Barkley tearing up plants and going around the house several times, the report adds.
In an interview with police offers, Barkley said she confronted someone (name is omitted) on the sidewalk, adding that the person wanted her to leave and did not want her on the property.
Barkley admitted to several things, including that she had left she had left and come back to the house several times to confront the person. Barkley admitted to sitting on the back porch and smoking cigarette, and also that she knew where her ex-boyfriend’s room was in the house.
The last time Barkley was seen around the house was around 6:30 a.m., heading west on Edwards Street, police said. Barkley then re-appears on the southwest corner of State and Edwards.
“She looks a the smoke coming from 550 S. State and takes off running south on State,” the report reads.
Barkley admitted to seeing the fire coming from the southeast corner of the house and did not call 911.
Chrisman’s room was in the southeast part of the house on the second floor, he said.
Fire investigators found that the fire started on the outside of the house on the southeast corner on the rear porch.
The only source of ignition would have come from a “human act,” the report read.
Chrisman says his ex-girlfriend started the fire
When a reporter from the SJ-R arrived at the house, Morris Chrisman identified himself as someone who lived at the house prior to the fire. He said he was the person who called the authorities — in addition to being Barkley’s ex-boyfriend.
A representative of the sober living home could not confirm or deny that Chrisman lived there due to the HIPPA Act.
Barkley was contacting him early in the morning and that he told her to not come to the house, Chrisman said, adding that she came anyway, and that she was “drunk and on drugs.”
Chrisman said he called authorities after he saw Barkley tearing up his plants. He said he and a friend went out to breakfast and upon returning, he saw the house on fire, along with firefighters.
Chrisman is temporarily staying in a motel that his church provided him with. He said his former house-mates have been relocated to other houses, but he may not be allowed to re-locate with the group.
“It’s not my fault somebody tried to come and burn me up,” he said.
The representative for the home said all of the men who resided in the house were offered spots at other sober living houses where they could have re-located.
Most of Chrisman’s belongings were destroyed.
The fire call came in at 6:39 a.m., according to Assistant Fire Chief Julie Plunk of the Springfield Fire Department. The last SFD rig left around 9:15 a.m.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Records show domestic disturbance call before suspected arson
Reporting by Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
