CA - Who burned down Tom Petty's house? Encino, 17 May 1987

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Steely Dan

Steely Dan

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Being a Petty fan this has annoyed me since 1987. Article

In the book they mention in the article Petty says he has a good idea of who did it but doesn't name him because there isn't enough evidence.

Petty has always come off as a decent guy and I'm sure he'd like this solved.

If anyone else is interested in this let's discuss. I don't have much to go on except that his house was burned down in a way that was meant to kill him and his family. They know it was started with a can of lighter fluid.
 
I did not know this happened. So I can't really help but I would hope they would findout who did it. That would be scary - someone burning down your home.

I like Tom Petty's music too. ​
 
*~Aimee~* said:
I did not know this happened. So I can't really help but I would hope they would findout who did it. That would be scary - someone burning down your home.

I like Tom Petty's music too. ​
Click to expand...

His daughter was almost killed and they lost everything. Fortunately, Annie Lennox was at Dave Stewart's house next door and when she saw the fire she realized the Petty's had lost everything and she went out and bought everyone new wardrobes. Cool thing to do, IMO. :thumb:

This definitely wasn't a warning type thing this was a serious attempt to kill his family and him.

I don't know much about it either but maybe somebody's heard something to tip off police? It's a longshot but that's why this board is here, to try and find the littlest detail of crimes that might help out.

The song "Won't back down" came out of this fire. Petty said for years after this he wasn't able to use the word fire in any songs of his.
 
interesting and scary.​
 
Steely Dan said:
Being a Petty fan this has annoyed me since 1987. Article

In the book they mention in the article Petty says he has a good idea of who did it but doesn't name him because there isn't enough evidence.

Petty has always come off as a decent guy and I'm sure he'd like this solved.

If anyone else is interested in this let's discuss. I don't have much to go on except that his house was burned down in a way that was meant to kill him and his family. They know it was started with a can of lighter fluid.
Click to expand...

I'd be curious to know his thoughts and feelings. What does Petty have to say about it? I would think he'd have pursued gathering more evidence to prove his thoughts. And for justice.

I am quite the fan, and I had never even heard of this story. What a horrific event.
 
mae said:
I'd be curious to know his thoughts and feelings. What does Petty have to say about it? I would think he'd have pursued gathering more evidence to prove his thoughts. And for justice.

I am quite the fan, and I had never even heard of this story. What a horrific event.
Click to expand...

I'm sure Petty's related his suspicions to police and since this is a celebrity case I'm sure they gave it a lot of attention it's just that they couldn't get enough evidence together.

I don't believe Petty will ever say publicly who he thinks it is until there's been an arrest.
 
I remember when the fire happened.
Its hard to say.
Celebrities are a magnet for the mentally unbalanced to focus on as we have seen with tragic results.
Also many of them have byzantine layers of aquaintances both personal and profesionals,hangers on and wannabes.
The entertainment business can be pretty cuthroat and the opportunities to slight someone intentionaly or accidentaly or to inspire jealousy are many.
 
I remember when this happened too but never read hardly anything about it. The only time I saw anything in-depth on it was when VH1 did the Behind The Music on TP&H and it was on there. I also have always thought Tom Petty was one of the most decent guys around so when I saw the BTM episode, I remember wondering how someone could have hated him or his family that much to do something like that. It was clear their intent was to kill, not just "scare" them.

Steelydan, Have you read the companion book to the DVD, Running Down a Dream? I've been wanting to read that book and Conversations with Tom Petty. I've been a fan since 1978 but just have not had time to read either book. Now that you've brought up the fire, my interest is piqued again and I'm going to have read one or both of them!
 
Was this his house in Florida or somewhere else? I love Tom's music, but never really kept up too much with his personal life. I've listened to him for ages, but it was when I was at the University of Florida that I really got into him. I can't pass by Hwy 441 or a sign pointing to it without thinking of his music.

I can't imagine my house burning to the ground, but worse...knowing that it was caused by arson and the person who did it intended to kill me and my entire family. That's something that's got to haunt someone forever. Since the crime has never been solved, I'm sure he wonders if it could happen again. What a nightmare. I know I'd feel that way - prolly watching my back all the time and trouble falling asleep some nights thinking about it.
 
Cambria said:
I remember when this happened too but never read hardly anything about it. The only time I saw anything in-depth on it was when VH1 did the Behind The Music on TP&H and it was on there. I also have always thought Tom Petty was one of the most decent guys around so when I saw the BTM episode, I remember wondering how someone could have hated him or his family that much to do something like that. It was clear their intent was to kill, not just "scare" them.

Steelydan, Have you read the companion book to the DVD, Running Down a Dream? I've been wanting to read that book and Conversations with Tom Petty. I've been a fan since 1978 but just have not had time to read either book. Now that you've brought up the fire, my interest is piqued again and I'm going to have read one or both of them!
Click to expand...

I was watching "Running Down a Dream" for the first time since joining this board and it hit me that this might be a good place to see if somebody could find something out or heard through the grapevine yada yada...

I read "Conversations With Tom Petty", great book. I just reread the part where he talks about the fire and his comments on having an idea of who did it isn't in that book but, I'm pretty sure I heard it somewhere. :confused:

I haven't read the companion book to "Running Down A Dream" yet.

Gypsy Road said:
Was this his house in Florida or somewhere else? I love Tom's music, but never really kept up too much with his personal life. I've listened to him for ages, but it was when I was at the University of Florida that I really got into him. I can't pass by Hwy 441 or a sign pointing to it without thinking of his music.

I can't imagine my house burning to the ground, but worse...knowing that it was caused by arson and the person who did it intended to kill me and my entire family. That's something that's got to haunt someone forever. Since the crime has never been solved, I'm sure he wonders if it could happen again. What a nightmare. I know I'd feel that way - prolly watching my back all the time and trouble falling asleep some nights thinking about it.
Click to expand...

His daughter had some problems after the fire, which is easy to understand.

It was his house in California and he lost everything except some stuff in his studio because he had a fire system and the sprinklers activated and saved some stuff but the sprinklers ruined a lot of other stuff.
 
Here's part 1 of an interview with Eric Haas. I haven't listened to all of the interview yet it's in 6 parts.
 
I remember this when it happened too but for some strange reason I thought I had heard that a nanny was a suspect? But obviously that wasn't the case b/c it's never been mentioned again. Strange.
 
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