DA confirms 1993 fatal Jeannette fire cause as undetermined, but says murder, arson convictions should stand

Westmoreland County prosecutors told a judge on Monday an expert hired to review the evidence used to convict a Jeannette man of intentionally setting a deadly fire in 1993 cannot conclude the blaze was arson.

James Young, 57, is serving three life sentences after he was convicted of setting fire at his family’s 14th Street home, killing his 26-year-old wife, Gina Marie, stepson, Shaun Holden, 3, and Joshua, the couple’s 7-month-old son.

Prosecutors contended during a trial in 1995 that Young spread gasoline around the property and set the house ablaze. Investigators ruled the cause of the fire was arson.

Young, with the help of lawyers from the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, contends the conviction should be overturned because the science authorities relied upon during the initial investigation has since been debunked. The same evidence now would elicit a finding that the cause of the fire was undetermined and not result in a conviction against Young, according to attorney Elizabeth DeLosa of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

Assistant District Attorneys Leo Ciaramitaro and Elizabeth Ranger said a new expert hired by prosecutors evaluated the fire evidence using current investigatory methods and concluded the blaze’s cause was undetermined, but suggested that finding would not alter the final disposition of the case.

The undetermined classification did not rule out arson as the cause of the fire, Ciaramitaro said.

Melanie Jones, spokeswoman for District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, said prosecutors will continue to oppose any effort for Young to receive a new trial.

“This determination does not change the DA’s prosecutorial efforts or position of upholding Mr. Young’s conviction,” Jones said in an email.

Young has been in prison since his arrest in 1993.

According to evidence at Young’s 1995 trial, investigators found gasoline cans outside the house and traces of fuel soaked into the diaper of Young’s infant son. Arson dogs detected evidence that an accelerant was used.

Witnesses testified they saw Young walk on the roof of the house as it burned and he refused to rescue his family as his wife pleaded for help from an upstairs window.

Young maintained he did not set the fire.

DeLosa said the evidence does not point to arson as the cause of the fire.

“Undetermined includes multiple accidental causes that were not ruled out by experts. The expert testimony (at trial) was debunked,” DeLosa said. “We would not represent Mr. Young if we did not believe he is innocent.”

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani said he will issue a ruling on whether Young is to receive a new trial after he reviews written legal arguments the lawyers were ordered to file over the next four months.