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this is a heartbreaking tragedy, and didn't have to happen. i cannot bear to think how the baby suffered as he literally cooked! the guy couldn't just carry the baby outside with him? or take the dog out? this is horrific. but no charges will be filed for stupidity. i think at the very least criminal negligence should have been charged.
barton will probably have nightmares his entire life if he has any conscience at all. how does anyone live with this?
No charges will be filed in connection to the August 2009 Newton house fire that claimed the life of 5-month-old Chase Edward Finch.
Newton authorities issued a statement Thursday indicating that after extensive investigation and testing “it has been determined that no charges will be filed in the case at this time. The evidence and information from the investigation are consistent with the death of Chase Edward Finch being the result of an unfortunate accident.”
Authorities were called to 926 N. Sixth Ave. E. in Newton at 4:28 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2009. Firefighters encountered a fire in the kitchen area, extinguished it and found Chase Edward Finch, the son of Bonnie Barton and Jason Finch, deceased in a car seat on the stove.
“During the investigation, the investigators learned that the fire originated from the glass stove top,” the report states. “It was also learned that Chase Edward Finch was in an infant car seat that had been placed on the glass stove top. The explanation given for placing Chase Edward Finch on the glass stove top was to avoid a dog that was in the residence, and they felt this was the only area in the kitchen large enough to set an infant car seat out of reach of the dog.”
Witnesses on the scene the afternoon of the incident told Daily News staff that Bonnie Barton dropped off her son to be watched by her ex-husband Jason Barton. According to Brandon Avila, who was visiting with Jason Barton around that time, the child was left inside the kitchen while Jason Barton stepped outside. Avila recalled talking to his friend near the garage for about five minutes when something caught their eye from inside the kitchen.
“Jason (Barton) looked up at the window and saw that the blind had fell. We kinda thought the dog had did it or something, and then I saw it had completely fell, and I’m like ‘oh my god.’ So Jason bolted toward the door, went inside and when he came back out, the smoke just came rolling out,” Avila said last August. “He was freaking out, saying, ‘The baby! The baby! The baby! There’s fire! The baby ’s on fire!’”
In the ensuing chaos, neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to fight the fire and rescue the child.
Over the past several months, the Newton Police Department, Newton Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted forensic testing at the ATF Fire Research Lab in Maryland. The investigation into the incident recreated a model of the kitchen scene and determined that the positioning of items around the stove left a specific spot for placement of the infant car seat. When placing the infant seat there, investigators discovered that the knob that controlled the left rear burner could be bumped into the on position. Investigators also simulated a rocking motion similar to movement by a child in the car seat and that motion also caused the knob on the left rear burner to turn on.
Investigators determined that contact between the seat and knob likely turned on the stove and that once the seat was in place, it completely obscured the knob and all indicator lights, which could have provided a clue that the burner was on.
Investigators also simulated the fire itself and determined that within five minutes, the burner ignited the car seat and had it fully engulfed. The reports states, “The results of the fire re-creation were consistent with the information and evidence obtained during the investigation.”
09070.jpg (Size: 18.35 KB / Downloads: 18)
barton will probably have nightmares his entire life if he has any conscience at all. how does anyone live with this?
No charges will be filed in connection to the August 2009 Newton house fire that claimed the life of 5-month-old Chase Edward Finch.
Newton authorities issued a statement Thursday indicating that after extensive investigation and testing “it has been determined that no charges will be filed in the case at this time. The evidence and information from the investigation are consistent with the death of Chase Edward Finch being the result of an unfortunate accident.”
Authorities were called to 926 N. Sixth Ave. E. in Newton at 4:28 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2009. Firefighters encountered a fire in the kitchen area, extinguished it and found Chase Edward Finch, the son of Bonnie Barton and Jason Finch, deceased in a car seat on the stove.
“During the investigation, the investigators learned that the fire originated from the glass stove top,” the report states. “It was also learned that Chase Edward Finch was in an infant car seat that had been placed on the glass stove top. The explanation given for placing Chase Edward Finch on the glass stove top was to avoid a dog that was in the residence, and they felt this was the only area in the kitchen large enough to set an infant car seat out of reach of the dog.”
Witnesses on the scene the afternoon of the incident told Daily News staff that Bonnie Barton dropped off her son to be watched by her ex-husband Jason Barton. According to Brandon Avila, who was visiting with Jason Barton around that time, the child was left inside the kitchen while Jason Barton stepped outside. Avila recalled talking to his friend near the garage for about five minutes when something caught their eye from inside the kitchen.
“Jason (Barton) looked up at the window and saw that the blind had fell. We kinda thought the dog had did it or something, and then I saw it had completely fell, and I’m like ‘oh my god.’ So Jason bolted toward the door, went inside and when he came back out, the smoke just came rolling out,” Avila said last August. “He was freaking out, saying, ‘The baby! The baby! The baby! There’s fire! The baby ’s on fire!’”
In the ensuing chaos, neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to fight the fire and rescue the child.
Over the past several months, the Newton Police Department, Newton Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted forensic testing at the ATF Fire Research Lab in Maryland. The investigation into the incident recreated a model of the kitchen scene and determined that the positioning of items around the stove left a specific spot for placement of the infant car seat. When placing the infant seat there, investigators discovered that the knob that controlled the left rear burner could be bumped into the on position. Investigators also simulated a rocking motion similar to movement by a child in the car seat and that motion also caused the knob on the left rear burner to turn on.
Investigators determined that contact between the seat and knob likely turned on the stove and that once the seat was in place, it completely obscured the knob and all indicator lights, which could have provided a clue that the burner was on.
Investigators also simulated the fire itself and determined that within five minutes, the burner ignited the car seat and had it fully engulfed. The reports states, “The results of the fire re-creation were consistent with the information and evidence obtained during the investigation.”
09070.jpg (Size: 18.35 KB / Downloads: 18)
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