Quote:
Teen burned home to hide parties
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By Kimball Perry
Post staff reporter
John Layne started Christmas early last year, flying to San Diego with his wife Dec. 5 to visit his father.
Layne, 40, instructed his 16-year-old son, a sophomore at Oak Hills High, to behave and not have any parties.
That sensible parental advice fell on deaf ears, though, as "hundreds of kids" partied all week at Layne's Dent house, neighbors later told him. They were neighbors who would, on the day Layne was due to return to his Ebenezer Road home, call to report the house was burning to the ground.
Even worse for Layne, his son was convicted this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court after admitting he burned down the house in a desperate attempt to cover up the damage his forbidden parties caused.
"He set three separate fires and torched it with gas," Layne said Tuesday as bulldozers knocked down the charred remains of his house, a loss the insurance company estimated at $380,000 for the house and its contents. "They got him to admit on tape he set the fires."
Layne found out about the fire, but not the culprit, Dec. 13 just before he was to fly back to Cincinnati.
"You talk about a long flight home," he said with a laugh, his wife next to him watching the demolition. "I was just sick."
His pain increased, though, when he was told his own flesh and blood was to blame.
"I couldn't believe my own son would do this. He showed no remorse at the trial. He just sat there," Layne said. "It's just been a nightmare you just can't wake up from."
While his son lived with his ex-wife in Price Hill, Layne allowed his son to come to his house each morning so the teen could attend Oak Hills and ride there with a neighbor.
When they were leaving Dent for the airport, Layne's son was his usual personable self.
"He gave us a huge hug and said, 'Have a good time.' I told him I would bring him a T-shirt," Layne said.
He warned the teen not to have parties, believing the warning was enough because the teen had never been a problem.
Instead, he later found out, the teen had "parties all week" that resulted in some damage to the house -- holes in a few walls and a kitchen cabinet was scratched -- but nothing that couldn't be repaired.
The fire was so hot -- exceeding 2,000 degrees, fire officials estimated -- that the house's I-beam that supported the house buckled, forcing the entire structure to be razed.
"It's incredible to me. He burned down the house to try to cover it up," Layne said.
"It's enough to nauseate you. We've cried. We've pretty much gone through the whole range of emotions.
"It's like there is an empty hole in my stomach. You just don't understand how this happened."
Layne's ex-wife did not return calls requesting comment for this article.
Layne's nausea returned when he learned his son likely would receive minimal punishment for his admitted crimes.
The teen was convicted Monday when assistant prosecutors reduced the charges against him. They told Layne they expected the teen to receive a "slap on the wrist" and be ordered to receive counseling.
Prosecutor Mike Allen called his assistant's representation to Layne "a poor choice of words" but said it was likely accurate. Those, he added, are the frustrations of dealing with juvenile criminals who usually aren't subject to punishment once they reach the age of majority.
"I thought that they would send him away to a juvenile home until he was 18 or something," Layne said.
Layne likely will end his relationship with his son.
"The sad thing is, we lost my son in this, too. "I felt betrayed and hurt. I never want him on my property again," Layne said.
"That's probably the last I'll see of him. To do something like this is just monstrous."
He and his wife have been living in an apartment since the fire. They plan to rebuild.
"I guess we just go on with our lives," he said.
Publication Date: 01-10-2004
