Stateman.com (Austin) Stack's wife and daughter were NOT in the house when it burned

[Nikki Stone1]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2010/02/18/house_fire_in_north_austin.html

Fire crews responded this morning to a fire at the home of a person who owned a plane that crashed into a Northwest Austin office building.

The house, in the 1800 block of Dapplegrey Lane close to Parmer Lane and Metric Boulevard, was owned by Andrew Joseph Stack, records show.

There were no injuries in the blaze, and the house is total loss, officials said.

Neighbors said they heard a loud noise that sounded like a car crash at about 9:15 a.m. and soon saw flames coming from house.

Neighbor Elbert Hutchins said he ran to the house while calling 911 and saw flames coming out of an upstairs window. Soon he saw a woman and a girl drive up in a car.

Neighbors believe that was Stack’s wife and daughter, who is about 12 years old.

The two are now believed to be in a neighbor’s house being assisted by the Red Cross. When reporters went to the door, an FBI agent answered.

A Red Cross spokewoman would only say they are assisting two people who are “remarkably calm, clearly distraught.” She said they are “physically fine.”

Dane Vick, whose home is behind Stack’s house, said he called 911 to report the house fire. He described it as an explosion. “I heard a humongous boom,” he said.

Vick said he went to the house and yelled, “Anyone in there. Everyone OK?”
“There was no movement,” he said....

More at the link...

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[csziggy]

2. Thanks - in all the reporting today, this was not made clear

There were comments about the wife and young child (?) being at a neighbor's house, but not definite statement whether they were in the house when Stack set fire to it.

[Nikki Stone1]

3. This is a reliable source.

Unlike a lot of the rumors that have been circulating.

This does not make it right that the wife and daughter don't have a home to go to. But, unlike lots of desperate men, he did NOT kill his family.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. More real info:

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2010/02/18/austin_police_say_a_plane.html

...The plane, a single-engine Piper Cherokee PA-28-236 Dakota, took off from a Georgetown airport at 9:40 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

A federal official confirmed for the Statesman that its tail number is registered to a plane owned by Andrew Joseph Stack, a private plane pilot whose nearby home was on fire at roughly the same time....

...It is unclear who was piloting the plane when it crashed into the building, but an FBI agent said all indications are that Stack was piloting the plane.
A note posted on a Web site registered to Stack suggested that Stack was disgruntled with the U.S. tax system.
The Georgetown airport had been shut down and evacuated about 12:30 p.m., Georgetown police Lt. Todd Turbush said, though he did not have details on why. A dispatcher with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office said emergency officials were investigating Stack’s car, which he had left at the airport.
Flights there were to resume about about 5:15 p.m., said an official with the Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center who did not wish to be named.
Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton said that the FBI would be taking over the investigation. An FBI agent who declined to identify himself said the agency is investigating the incident as an assault on a federal officer.
Officials said 13 people were treated at the scene, mostly with burns and heat-related injuries. Two were critically injured and transported to area hospitals.
An IRS revenue collection agent who worked on the building’s second floor is missing, said Mark Menn, a 59-year-old field revenue agent who worked in the building. Menn declined to give the man’s name.
Matilda Sanchez, spokeswoman for the Seton Family of Hospitals, said an injured man was admitted to University Medical Center Brackenridge in good condition with minor injuries and smoke inhalation. The man was later discharged.
Sanchez said a second man was admitted in serious condition with burns, then transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
A second hospitalized patient was identified by the Texas Comptroller’s office one of its employees, 38-year-old Shane Hill. The comptroller’s office said Hill was at the Echelon building for work, but did not elaborate.
“The thoughts and prayers of Texas Comptroller Susan Combs and her agency are with Shane Hill and his family,” the office said in a written statement.....

[Canuckistanian]

5. That's why I NEVER trust the first 6 hours of media coverage

Some bimbo from a local TV station or a blogger makes a wild-ass guess about something, then BOOM. An instant "established fact" that will be repeated for an indefinite time.

See "underpants bomber one-way ticket"

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

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[Fleshdancer]

7. self delete

until I stop seeing contradicting links, I probably shouldn't respond.

Either way, I hope they find peace.

[Nikki Stone1]

8. I tend to trust the newspaper, which has really thorough coverage

The TV coverage is missing many details, so I am less likely to think they are credible. But I understand your carefulness.

[Fleshdancer]

10. being in Austin, I feel a bit bombarded

although I do admit this is 100% my fault. Many of my friends in town were asking me for the latest info (I work from home and have access to all the news channels - both local and national) so I took it upon myself to constantly flip channels and read the breaking news reports.

I'm usually the one rolling my eyes at all the contradicting reports of breaking news, but today I admit to eating them all up. Emotion does that. I'm not proud.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. Well, you're in shock

And sometimes, "eating up" information is a way of dealing with the complete loss of control that comes with actions like these.

[Mythbuster]

15. It's not what you call an everyday event...

...subsequently, you're not expected to have an "everyday reaction" to such an event, especially when it happened in your own city. I live in Ft Worth and felt like it was right next door. Emotion does do that to people for various reasons during stressful events, but there is no need for you to feel bad about how you reacted or how it made you feel... just shows you are human like the rest of us. :)

[saracat]

9. My understanding via news reports is that the wife and daughter were NOT home.

Nikki is accurate in her reporting and links. To suggest otherwise is unfair and indicates a lack of diligence.

[MilesColtrane]

12. So he didn't try to kill them.

He only wanted to leave them homeless and without a father/husband?

An insane person by any other name....

[Nikki Stone1]

13. Well, so many husbands kill their families when they commit suicide that it is

an oddity when they don't. It also shows some modicum of concern for his wife and daughter that he did not hurt them. On the other hand, they now have no husband/dad and no house.

Judging levels of hurt just becomes a bizarre exercise.

[MilesColtrane]

16. I agree.

I thought it bizarre that some posters were pointing to the fact that Stark didn't intentionally kill his family as proof that he was evil instead of insane.

[Nikki Stone1]

19. I know

People have odd ways of seeing things sometimes. Lots of projection going on in lots of forums over this incident.

[juajen]

18. I assume he destroyed the home and the plane to prevent

the IRS from taking them, as they undoubtedly were threatening to do, and he destroyed himself, limiting their ability to enforce more payment from him, and he destroyed his assets. He was pretty methodical, I think.

Because it was suicide, there will be no insurance benefits for his family, but, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make some hidden provisions for his family. I know what it is to have the IRS after you, and how helpless you feel when they come to get you, even when you did nothing to justify their actions.

I think it was heartless to hit the building and possibly kill innocent civilians, though. That was crazy, as he could have destroyed himself and the plane without hurting others, and he would have achieved the same thing, denying the IRS payment of their claims. It should be interesting to find out exactly what they were after and what they will be able to obtain from his destroyed life.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. I think you're right.

I also wonder how he only managed to kill one person and injure (not badly) a couple more. Not to defend the guy: No innocent cog in a wheel should have been targeted, and I would have preferred that he hit an empty building, at night. But the death count is really low. Some car accidents have more fatalities. Odd.

[laughingliberal]

25. Can't assume no life insurance

I don't know if he had any or not but a lot of life insurance policies only limit coverage for suicides for a specified period of time.

[TwilightGardener]

14. Why was the girl not in school at 9:15 am on a Thursday? Why was she out

driving around with mom? This story is a little weird.

[Born_A_Truman]

17. What I heard...

is that last night Stack and his wife had a big disagreement and she took her daughter and stayed at a hotel.

[Jennicut]

21. Maybe their leaving triggered his final breakdown. At least they were safe.

[Texasgal]

22. I had been reading this all day

on DU and was wondering where people were getting this story of the wife and child inside... it was never reported that way here in Austin. :shrug:

[laughingliberal]

23. K & R for accuracy.

Dispels earlier posts I read that said Stack burned the house down with wife and daughter in it.

[KonaKane]

24. Diversionary shit.

I never assumed he tried to kill them. All I know is that he flew his plane into a building full of innocent people working for a living, and he set his home on fire before he left....leaving in his wake dead people, and a homeless family.

If this is supposed to be some gold star for him in the whole sordid debacle, try again.

[laughingliberal]

26. I don't think the intent was a gold star

but I have seen it said here on DU that he burned down the house with his wife and daughter in it. Is there a problem with correcting the record?