19 year old Ohio Man killed recording a pipe bomb blast
Chris
BY JANICE MORSE AND QUAN TRUONG | JMO...@ENQUIRER.COM AND
QTR...@ENQUIRER.COM
WEST CHESTER TWP. - Among Daniel Ferraro's many interests: watching the
Cincinnati Bengals, shooting paintballs - and "blowing stuff up," he says on
his Facebook Internet site.
The latter fascination proved deadly.
Ferraro, 19, died Wednesday while apparently using a camera to record the
explosion of a homemade pipe bomb in his parents' back yard, authorities
said Thursday.
"A lot of times, you learn by mistakes. Unfortunately, Dan didn't have a
chance to learn from this one," said Rich Porter of Liberty Township, an
assistant leader of Boy Scout Troop 974.
Both Ferraro, 19, and his best friend, Robby Moser, 19, attained the
prestigious Eagle Scout award while in that West Chester troop.
"They were inseparable," Porter said.
But Wednesday's blast killed Ferraro and left Moser mourning his friend's
death while facing criminal charges, along with two juveniles.
Kathy Ferraro had previously warned her son about the explosives, family
spokesman Bob Wylly said.
"I know she expressed some concern for the few times he had experimented
with his more volatile chemicals and asked him not to."
Wylly wanted to the community to know Ferraro wasn't doing it to be
destructive.
"He was bright and enthusiastic. He tends to latch on to something that
seems interesting and pursues it but it he always pursued with a purpose,"
he said. "Maybe he was thinking about (explosives) for a military background
and wanted to learn more. This was not a malicious event - it was an
experiment."
As a sophomore psychology major and Naval ROTC member at Miami University,
Ferraro's Facebook site is accessible by more than 27,000 people through
that group alone; thousands of others can also see it through the Bengals
fans network and other groups to which Ferraro belonged.
On that site, Ferraro posted a birthday wish to Moser in August. The message
included several amusing reminiscences but also one that seems chilling in
retrospect: watching a chlorine bomb blow up in Moser's face.
Moser, of West Chester, was released from the Butler County jail on $35,000
bond Thursday. He is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Butler County Area III
Court, West Chester, on charges of involuntary manslaughter and illegally
manufacturing or possessing explosives, both felonies.
Ferraro died from severe face and head injuries as a result of the blast,
said Dr. Richard Burkhardt, Butler County coroner.
Ferraro apparently was struck by the metal pipe that was used to make the
bomb; pieces of camera also were found among his injuries, leading
investigators to conclude: "He was taking pictures after someone else lit
the fuse," Burkhardt said.
Police allege the young men fashioned the bomb from a metal pipe that was
about 6 inches long, 1 inch in diameter, packed with less than a pound of
black gunpowder, plus a fuse.
Porter said he thought the device was intended more as a post-New Year's
firework than as a bomb.
Instructions for making such devices are easily available from many sources,
including the Internet, said West Chester Police Capt. Joel Herzog.
Ferraro and his three companions were standing about 110 feet away from the
blast.
"That is a good distance away, so it just shows the amount of force this
thing generated," Herzog said.
The blast shook windows of neighbors, who called 911 to report the explosion
around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The pipe bomb had been placed in the "fort" of a playset behind Ferraro's
home in the 6700 block of Apache Way.
His parents were not home at the time, but a younger sister was, police
said.
His parents were not home at the time, but a younger sister of Ferraro was
at the house, police said.
The girl, who didn't give her name, told a dispatcher: "Something just blew
up...My brother and his friends were in the back yard. I don't know exactly
what happened, but I think my brother's injured...we need an ambulance ASAP,
please."
All four young men were positioned in the same general area when the bomb
exploded, but Ferraro was the only one hurt.
"It was a freak thing. They were all there. They were all present," said
West Chester Police Sgt. Steve Oakes.
Wylly said Ferraro was the only one of the four who stood unprotected when
the bomb went off.
"Three of them went and got behind something to shelter themselves. Daniel
stood out, thinking the distance would make him safe."
Kathy and Tony Ferraro don't blame Moser for what happened, he said. They're
just worried about him.
Two juveniles, ages 14 and 15, both of West Chester, were released Thursday
on home incarceration. They are not being electronically monitored but have
been ordered to remain in their homes, said Tim Myers, Butler County
Juvenile Court spokesman.
Both faced delinquency counts of involuntary manslaughter and manufacturing
or possessing explosives. Such charges would be felonies if the defendants
were adults.
The teens were ordered to have no contact with each other, with Moser, nor
with the victim's family. They are scheduled for a pretrial hearing Jan. 24.
Neither youth had prior contact with the juvenile court system, Myers said.
Records obtained by The Enquirer show that police had been called about
other explosions at Ferraro's house months before Wednesday's explosion.
At about 11 p.m. June 26, an unidentified caller warned West Chester police
that juveniles at Ferraro's address "are always setting off fireworks," a
dispatch report said. "He states he thinks they are now lighting some type
of aerosol."
Residents nearby also made other noise complaints in that area in recent
months, according to police reports.
Ferraro's father, Anthony, is an energy management engineer at Miami and had
been his son's scoutmaster. His mother, Kathy, is a Lakota East High School
teacher. Neither were available for comment Thursday.
Claire Wagner, a spokeswoman for Miami University, said Ferraro's was the
fourth death of a Miami student since April. Two students died after they
were hit by a train and another died of a drug overdose.
Many of Ferraro's extended family was already in town for his two sisters'
birthdays, which are two weeks apart. The support, Wylly said, from the
family members and the community has been astounding.
"There's a great deal of shock and sadness but there's no blame around what
happened. They know Daniel was not a bad boy or a difficult to manage boy.
They understand his enthusiasm. The positive response has been a blessing."
Visitation for Ferraro will be 4-8 p.m. Sunday at Lakota Christian Church,
5962 Hamilton-Mason Road, Liberty Township. A memorial service will be 10
a.m. Monday at the church.
Staff writer Jennifer Baker contributed
mack
"Chris" <nos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3qKdnXTP8JEbkOLa...@wideopenwest.com...
> http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/NEWS01/801030392
>
> BY JANICE MORSE AND QUAN TRUONG | JMO...@ENQUIRER.COM AND
> QTR...@ENQUIRER.COM
>
> WEST CHESTER TWP. - Among Daniel Ferraro's many interests: watching the
> Cincinnati Bengals, shooting paintballs - and "blowing stuff up," he says
> on his Facebook Internet site.
>
> The latter fascination proved deadly.
>
> Ferraro, 19, died Wednesday while apparently using a camera to record the
> explosion of a homemade pipe bomb in his parents' back yard, authorities
> said Thursday.
But all is not lost. By simply intoning those magic words, "Watch This!"
Ferraro has been enshrined in the Darwin Hall of Fame.