NEWPORT, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire fire investigator says he doesn't believe a lit cigarette started the fire that killed a Keene family of four in an adjacent apartment in 1989.
Lawyers for 54-year-old David McLeod are in court challenging evidence prosecutors say shows that McLeod set the fire that killed a newlywed couple, their 4-month-old daughter and the man's 12-year-old daughter.
Retired fire investigator Thomas Norton says he initially thought a dropped cigarette may have started the blaze, but discounted that after talking to apartment resident Sandra Walker.
Norton said Walker reported seeing a glowing fire, not a smoldering fire that likely would have killed her as she slept.
McLeod is charged with four counts of murder.
The hearing resumes Wednesday in Newport Superior Court.
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David McLeod
