The cause of the fire and the cause of death in a fatal May 17 blaze in Whitwell, Tenn., still are not known in a state and local investigation into what authorities have ruled a homicide.
Investigators won’t know what killed 72-year-old Valley Pawn Brokers owner Jerry Don Ridge until more details are released from an autopsy, and officials are no closer to naming a “person of interest” identified during the probe, 12th Judicial District Attorney Mike Taylor said Monday.
The second arm of the investigation, the cause of the fire, also is pending, Taylor said.
“I do know that the indication given to me was that there were accelerants in the fire,” he said.
Authorities aren’t able to say whether Ridge was still alive at the time of the fire, Taylor said. Evidence collected from the scene early in the investigation has led authorities to a “person of interest,” according to Marion County Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett, but that person’s status hasn’t officially changed in the three weeks since the fire.
Ridge’s body was found in the back of the building that was damaged mostly by smoke, according to officials. Ridge owned Valley Pawn Broker for 17 years.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide during the week that followed the fire.
The fire was reported by a passerby around 4:30 p.m. CDT on May 17. Firefighters found the doors to the pawn shop locked and had to break into the building to extinguish the blaze.
Whitwell City Hall is about a half mile north of the pawn shop. When the fire broke out, a meeting was being held nearby that included city officials and possibly some firefighters who were able to respond quickly to the fire, Burnett said.
“Our investigators and the [Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] met Thursday with the DA’s office to go over the case,” Burnett said Monday.
Burnett said it was likely that prosecutors will present the case to the grand jury in August.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com, on Twitter @BenBenton, on Facebook at www.face book.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.