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Explosion at Reno home kills woman, injures her husband

Sandra Chereb

Thursday, July 13, 2000 | 11:03 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A man seriously injured in a house explosion that killed his wife is a possible suspect in the arson-murder investigation.

Fire investigators said the Wednesday night explosion that ripped the roof off the home was the work of an arsonist, Reno Fire Marshal Larry Farr said. Investigators are now working with homicide detectives searching for clues in the debris.

Deputy Reno Police Chief Jim Weston said the husband is a possible suspect.

"Inside the home, it looks like the female was lying on a bed. There was a five-gallon gas can and gasoline spread around the room," Weston said.

He said there were no obvious problems between the couple, but added that because of the evidence so far, "the husband is a potential suspect."

"It doesn't look like they were fighting or anything," Weston said. "One witness heard them laughing and talking in the back yard earlier in the evening.

"Apparently they had just bought a new boat and were talking about trying it out this weekend."

The 41-year-old man suffered second- and third-degree burns over much of his body, Weston said.

He was flown to the burn unit at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he was listed in critical condition Thursday, according to hospital spokeswoman Trish Lampo.

An autopsy was being performed on the woman.

The victims' names were withheld until their relatives can be notified.

Neighbors rushed to the scene after the blast near Veteran's Memorial Hospital.

"I just heard the explosion and saw the roof cave in," said Jeremy Tyree. "Everything had blown out into the yard."

Two neighbors, Mike Anchondo and Chris Shuemaker, witnessed the blast and jumped over a fence to help the burning man when he emerged from the home.

"I just patted him down with my hands first, then I used a shirt," Mike Anchondo told the Reno-Gazette Journal.

Shuemaker said the man kept yelling for someone to save his wife who was trapped inside.

Another neighbor, Dee Malone, said she didn't know the couple but she had previously spoken with the wife.

"We went there to trick-or-treat on Halloween," she told the newspaper. "They seemed like nice people."

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