The Arsonist's Confession: 'He Wanted Me to Burn It'
A Tacoma man details his coerced participation in the Aurora Hotel fire, revealing a plot by property owner Ed Williams to collect insurance money.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
"I was hired to burn it," he said. "He knew all the places where I could begin the Aurora." He stated that he would have a fire here. I perceived that I was making expenses at the end of the arc. We went down again with Ed because I was afraid of him. I was always afraid of him. Clink was hearing me say that my wife owed him. Clink told me that Ed Williams, owner of the building, had hired him to burn the house for a hundred dollars. He told me and I stood about being broke up, as I would not if I believed him that Mrs. Pyle has something meaning the Tacoma Times.
"The first time I met with Clink about this was Monday night between 10 and 12. Clink said he was hired to burn it... He told me Ed Williams, owner of the building, had hired him to burn the house for a hundred dollars."
This account of an insurance fraud arson case from Tacoma highlights how property speculation and financial desperation have long driven criminal behavior in Washington's urban centers. The specific mention of the 'Aurora' hotel places this in the context of Seattle/Tacoma's rapid commercial expansion, where building values were high enough to justify deadly risks for payouts.
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