The mother of a 7-year-old who was raped and murdered got some measure of payback by helping firefighters burn down the Orange Park, Fla., home once owned by the convicted killer. The man is now serving a life-sentence, and his residence, where the crime occurred, was torched as part of a training exercise for local firefighters.
Diena Thompson’s desire for revenge burned white hot, but she didn't break any laws when she finally got it.
Wearing a firefighter jacket and a cathartic smile, the mother of a 7-year-old who was raped and murdered got some measure of payback by helping local smoke-eaters burn down the Florida home of the man now serving a life sentence for the crime. It was a firefighter training exercise.
“I get to burn their house down," Thompson told News4Jax Thursday after throwing a flare into the Orange Park, Fla. home. "I am the big bad wolf this time, knocking down your door."
Jarred Harrell lured little Somer Thompson inside the suburban Jacksonville horror house as she was walking home from school on Oct. 19, 2009. He sexually assaulted and smothered her before dumping her body in the trash.
Thompson’s remains were found days later in a Georgia landfill. Harrell pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, sexual battery and other charges—avoiding the death penalty—and was sentenced to life in prison.
The house was foreclosed on and the bank transferred ownership to the Somer Thompson Foundation, which turned around and gave it to the Orange Park Fire Department to use for training, The Florida Times-Union reported.
They torched the building, to the delight of Thompson, 40, her neighbors and friends.
It’s really nice to know that I’m not ever going to have to drive in this neighborhood again and see this piece of trash,” said Thompson, who one day earlier was allowed inside the home and took an axe to the walls.
The house, described as an eyesore, was burned to the ground.
Diane Malcolm, who lives nearby, stood and watched.
"It kind of puts a finalization on what happened,”Malcolm told the Times-Union. “Every time you drive by you have a bad feeling that something that tragic happened right there." ..Source.. by Jason Molinet, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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