Propane tank rigged with explosive appears to be cause of Elkhart house fire
Posted: Aug 24, 2011 3:12 AM EDT | Updated: Nov 6, 2014 7:15 AM EDT
ABC 57 has learned new information on the apparent cause of the house fire that killed two young boys and their father at their Grant Street home in Elkhart.
Officials told ABC 57 it appears the person who intentionally started the fire threw a 20-pound propane tank, with an explosive rigged inside of it, into the dining room window of the house.
Eight people were inside of the home at the time, but three did not survive: 7-year-old Adolfo Aguilar, 13-year-old Ricardo Aguilar, and 38-year-old Jose Aguilar.
Police said they are still trying to figure out if the man who is behind two stabbings and the fire is the man who took his own life in a car fire on County Road 28 that morning.
That man is believed to be part of a police chase that ended after the car erupted in flames. The car owner has been identified through the Elkhart police blotter as 31-year-old Francisco Macias.
An autopsy has not confirmed whether the charred body recovered from inside of the car is that of Macias.
Fire officials told ABC 57 it is too early in the investigation to determine whether Macias is behind the crime spree.