CINCINNATI — Following the sentencing of the fourth and final suspect accused of causing the fire that destroyed the 1000 Hands Playground and severely damaged the Big Mac Bridge, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich has shed new light on what happened the night of the fire.
Pillich said the fire was set by "one man who set the fire because he likes to set fires."
That man, Terry Stiles, was sentenced to over 9 years in prison for aggravated arson.
On November 1, 2024 a fire severely damaged the Ohio side approach to the Big Mac Bridge, causing the bridge to be closed for 100 days, and leading to more than $11 million in damage.
You can watch the full press conference in the player below:
According to Pillich, investigators determined through traffic cameras in the area that a green van had parked at Sawyer Point around an hour before the fire.
Before that, the group had driven around the area of Sawyer Point Park.
Inside the van were Kaitlen Hall, Zachary Stumpf and Stiles, Pillich said. She added the three had been driving around looking for scooters to steal.
"It was a Halloween thing, I guess," said Pillich.
After the van parked at Sawyer Point, Hall stayed in the van, because her three children were also in the vehicle at the time. Stumpf and Stiles, however, left the van and walked around Sawyer Point for roughly an hour, Pillich said.
Cameras showed the two men near the 1000 Hands Playground at around 2:40 a.m., according to Pillich.
"Terry Stiles purposely gathered debris and brush under the Big Mac Bridge and set it on fire with a lighter," said Pillich. "When the fire didn't immediately ignite, he brushed his arm across it."
That movement scattered burning embers across the base of the playground, which was made of a rubber composite, Pillich said.
From there, Pillich said traffic cameras captured the first glow of flames reflected off the structure of the Big Mac Bridge at around 2:57 a.m. Stumpf and Stiles could be seen outside the playground minutes later, at around 2:59 a.m.
After that, the van left the park with its lights off at around 3:05 a.m.
The traffic camera then shows flames rising above the eight-foot fence surrounding the 1000 Hands Playground at 3:15 a.m. — just before the first 911 call was made.
That 911 call was made by a man who said he'd just driven across the Big Mac Bridge heading from Ohio into Kentucky. He told dispatchers there was thick, black smoke coming up over the top deck of the bridge, making it difficult for drivers to see.
The caller said the smoke looked like the kind that comes from a house fire.
"Yeah, there's a massive fire on the Ohio side, I'm looking at it from the Kentucky side now," the 911 caller told dispatchers. "It's a roaring fire under the bridge, I've never seen anything like it in my life."
James Hamilton was not even there that night, Pillich said. He was arrested and charged because when investigators finally tied Hall, Stumpf and Stiles to the fire, Hamilton attempted to help them evade arrest, according to the prosecutor.
Pillich said once all four people had been arrested, Stumpf decided to come clean to investigators and described for them how Stiles had gathered the debris and used his lighter to set it on fire, before scattering the burning embers with his arm. In turn, Pillich said Stiles also tried to turn the blame on Stumpf — but Stumpf's ' story matched evidence already found by investigators, while Stiles' story did not.
Once he was confronted about holes in his story, Stiles confessed and told investigators that he liked to set fires and had been setting them for years, Pillich said.
All four people accused of being involved that night have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Hall and Hamilton had faced obstruction of justice charges, but they agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of official business.
Hall declined to speak during her court appearance; she was sentenced to one year of community control and 40 hours of community service. Hall must also remain employed during her sentence, or she could instead face 300 hours of community service.
Hamilton also pleaded guilty to unrelated drug charges from a different case.
In all, he was sentenced to 90 days in prison for the drug charge, but was given credit for having already served that time; he will still face two years of community control and 40 hours of community service for the charge tied to the bridge fire.
Stumpf also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, which is a 3rd degree felony. He was sentenced to three years of community control and must complete behavioral treatment at River City Correctional Center.
Stiles pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated arson and one count of arson. He will serve nine to 13 and a half years in prison.
