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Life in prison without parole is being sought against a man accused of the death of his two children in a 1998 house fire.
Michael A. Christofeno, the special prosecutor in the case, also was granted a protective order that prevents the defense from viewing some of the police documents in the case. Christofeno is a member of the Elkhart County prosecutor's office.
David Charles Reed, 30, of Syracuse, was indicted by a grand jury in August on two counts of murder. Reed's sons, Austin David Reed, 3, and Justin Allen Reed, 1, died in their beds in a March 1, 1998, fire at 9816 Majestic Way in Marineland Gardens on the south side of Lake Wawasee.
Several aggravating factors, including that the children were allegedly killed while Reed was committing arson and by the unlawful detonation of an explosive with the intent to injure or damage property, are noted in the request for life imprisonment. Reed is not charged with arson in the case.
Kosciusko Circuit Court documents also indicate that the ages of the children are aggravating factors.
Because grand jury testimony is presented in a closed hearing, the prosecution sought the protective order against a defense request for a transcript of the grand jury. Previous cases cited in the protective order request show that the "defendant has a right to witness statements to a grand jury upon the laying of a proper foundation, but there is no right to a transcript of grand jury proceedings."
The fire at the Reed home was ruled accidental three days after an investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department began. Information at the time of the fire indicated the cause of the fire was at first viewed as suspicious because of unusual burn patterns in the manufactured home, where Reed and the boys' mother, Faith Ferguson, lived. Ferguson was not at home when the fire occurred. The fire was later ruled accidental when analysis of the evidence by two Fort Wayne laboratories indicated there was no accelerant used to start the fire.
Christofeno and Elkhart County Prosecutor Michael Cosentino were named special prosecutors in this case after Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner noted a conflict of interest. Prosecutor-elect R. Steven Hearn has indicated that the special prosecutors will continue to handle the case after Hearn takes office in January, according to court documents.
A trial date for the case has not yet been set.
