CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A 17-page application for a search warrant in the arson case of a Missoula, Mont., lesbian couple whose house burned down in February provides the most detailed account of the investigation yet made public. Carla Grayson and Adrianne Neff said they barely escaped the fire with their newborn son and that the fire that destroyed their home was a hate crime resulting from a lawsuit they filed days earlier against the Montana university system. The suit, brought by Grayson, a University of Montana assistant professor, and Neff along with another lesbian couple, accused the university system of violating the state constitution by not providing health insurance and other benefits to the partners of gay employees. Police used a search warrant in early August to examine contents of a safe belonging to Grayson and Neff. The safe was searched August 8, but the search warrant request became public Thursday, when it was filed in Missoula County District Court. The warrant application describes the arson device as a gasoline-soaked rope strung through both floors of the house, with intermittent piles of gasoline-soaked rags and socks on it. Gasoline had been poured or spread down the stairwell and on furniture in the living room. Investigators believe the arsonist used gasoline from the couple's garage, the application says. The couple said they kept gasoline for a lawnmower. According to the warrant request, arson investigators are skeptical about several aspects of the blaze. David Campbell, who has testified in court a number of times as an expert witness about fires, said, "An outsider would have been unfamiliar with the residence, would not have known where the items used would have been stored, and would have had to have laid down all the gasoline-soaked trailers in the dark without disturbing the residents who were in the home." County attorney Fred Van Valkenburg said he is awaiting results from the FBI of DNA tests and a handwriting analysis on the threatening letters the two couples allegedly received. He added that there is still not enough evidence to charge anyone. Grayson, who took a sabbatical from the University of Montana, where she is an assistant professor of psychology, and Neff have temporarily relocated to Michigan, according to deputy Missoula County attorney Karen Townsend. Van Valkenburg said he had no reason to ask them to stay in Missoula and had no sense that they were fleeing.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Iraq postpones vote on bill punishing gay sex with death
April 20 2024 1:31 PM
Russian poetry contest bans entries from transgender poets
April 20 2024 1:25 PM
Here's who won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16
April 20 2024 1:01 PM
The Tip Off: A beginners guide to the WNBA
April 20 2024 11:06 AM
John Fetterman challenges Pa. school board’s cancellation of talk by gay actor
April 19 2024 2:39 PM
New study finds inadequate response to mpox outbreak
April 19 2024 2:06 PM
Fighting back against MAGA’s attacks on equality
April 19 2024 1:00 PM
Just one Christian Nationalist group is behind Idaho's bans on trans care and abortion
April 19 2024 11:57 AM
Linda Perry opens up in new documentary, premiering in June at Tribeca Festival
April 19 2024 11:43 AM
Trans woman loses lower legs in NYC subway attack. Now, friends rally to help her
April 19 2024 10:06 AM
Black trans woman África Parrilla García shot to death in Puerto Rico
April 18 2024 4:55 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene has sunk so low even Fox News can't stand her anymore
April 18 2024 4:04 PM
Single lesbians are avoided by straight women, but not straight men. Here's why.
April 18 2024 3:18 PM