In 2005, David Cowan, co-author of "To Sleep With the Angels: The
Story of a Fire" pleads guilty to arson:
From the Chicago Tribune--
Author pleads guilty in fire
Ex-firefighter gets 3 years for arson
By Jeff Coen
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 20, 2005
David Cowan, who co-authored a book on the 1958 Our Lady of the Angels School fire, pleaded guilty Monday to setting a fire earlier this year in a storage building on the grounds of St. Benedict Church.
The former Bellwood firefighter pleaded guilty to one count of arson
and was sentenced to 3 years in prison by Criminal Court Judge Dennis
Porter.
Cowan's lawyer, Thomas Durkin, said his client had resigned himself to
the idea that he would not be able to make bond while his case was
pending, and wanted to get it behind him. Durkin said Cowan has been
taking medication for bipolar disorder.
"He'd very much like to be with his children, particularly at this
time of year, but he understands the situation," Durkin said. "He's
hoping very much to get to continue treatment and become again a
contributor to society, as he's always been."
Cowan, of the 3800 block of North Ravenswood Avenue, told the judge he was "extremely remorseful" for setting the fire. Durkin said the
incident was a result of Cowan's condition and troubled domestic
situation. Cowan is now estranged from his wife, the lawyer said.
Cowan could have been sentenced to up to 7 years. His attorney had
sought probation in the case, while Assistant State's Atty. Rich
Lovell asked Porter to sentence the author to 6 years.
Before Cowan was sentenced, Lovell reminded the judge about telephone threats the author allegedly had made to his brother-in-law, a Chicago police sergeant. The day before the fire, he had threatened to stab his brother-in-law and hide his body.
Lovell said Cowan also had broken a window of the storage building
after starting the blaze, Lovell said, "to facilitate the spread of
the fire." No one was injured in the blaze.
Cowan recently had been fired from his job as a janitor of the church,
at 2215 W. Irving Park Rd., and his lawyer has said he had a problem
with alcohol. Authorities said his wife, who regularly parked a tour
bus on the grounds of the church, was returning from a planned trip
June 9 as he apparently started the fire.
He is the co-author of the book titled "To Sleep With the Angels: The
Story of a Fire," which has been considered an authoritative work on
the blaze that killed 92 children. Other books he has authored include
"Great Chicago Fires: Historic Blazes That Shaped a City." Porter
reminded Cowan that arson is a "very serious crime," that can cause "a
lot of bad things to happen."
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...calchicago-hed