LPD Chief Paul Clark confirmed earlier today that the owner of a Linton business and his wife, whose log home burned in a hot fire in early August, were taken into custody today after a warrant was issued for their arrest this morning. They are accused of multiple counts of arson and conspiracy to commit arson following an investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Linton Police Department and personnel from numerous agencies. The arrest was made by personnel from the State Fire Marshal’s Office assisted by officers from the Linton Police Department.

Jeremy S. Ferree, 42, and Crystal D. Ferree, 40, both from Linton, were arrested before noon today, Tuesday, August 27, and transported to the Greene County Jail after a warrant was issued for their arrest around 10:30 a.m. today.

Jeremy Ferree is the owner of Ferree Log Homes.

The warrants were ordered by Greene Circuit Judge Erik Allen after criminal cases were filed this morning in Greene Circuit Court.

Jeremy Ferree is facing preliminary charges of four felony counts of:

Arson damage by fire to property, a Level 4 felony,
Conspiracy to commit arson with intent to defraud, a Level 6 felony,
Arson with intent to defraud, a Level 6 felony, and
Conspiracy to commit arson with intent to defraud, a Level 6 felony.

Crystal Ferree is facing preliminary charges of two felony counts of:

Conspiracy to commit arson – to knowingly damage by fire a dwelling, a Level 4 felony, and
Conspiracy to commit arson with intent to defraud, a Level 6 felony.

According to court records, the two reside on West County Road 185 North, Linton.

The fire occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 4, at approximately 3:30 a.m. at the home of the couple located at 10829 West County Road 185 North.

The Linton Fire Department and the Linton Police Department both responded and arrived on the scene within four minutes of being dispatched.

Police determined Jeremy Ferree and Crystal Ferree were the owners but were not home at the time. The home was also occupied by their children and the children were also not at home. The family dog was not inside the house. No injuries were reported.

In addition to the Linton Fire Department and LPD, other personnel responded to the scene from the Wright Township Volunteer Fire Department, the Switz City Volunteer Fire Department and the Greene County Ambulance Service.

After firefighters had extinguished the blaze, LFD Chief Brad Sparks requested an arson investigator to look into the cause of the fire and early Monday morning, August 5, Investigator Jeffrey A. Ramey II arrived on the scene.

Investigator Ramey is an arson investigator for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, State Fire Marshal’s Office, who has been involved in numerous arson investigations with the ATF, FBI and local law enforcement agencies throughout Indiana.

Investigator Ramey, the lead investigator, compiled a lengthy probable cause affidavit detailing the investigation. He was assisted by personnel from the Linton Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the Jasonville Police Department and the Indiana State Police.

Following today’s arrests, LPD Chief Paul Clark said, “The efforts of each and every public safety agency listed above was important in this investigative process and the Linton Police Department is thankful for those efforts.”

Investigator Ramey said the couple’s home suffered severe fire damage and was almost completely consumed by the fire. He said it was a log style home and burned exceptionally hot and fast. He also said it is difficult to make an accurate determination of the cause of fires on these types of log homes. However, his affidavit explains how the investigation revealed other evidence and circumstances that helped lead to the criminal charges.

One of the first things Ramey mentions is that in a detached garage, he noticed a moderate amount of family pictures and collectables inside a room of the garage. Some had dust on them, some did not. The garage sustained minimal exterior damage from the heat.

The couple did have insurance on the home, but they had purchased it only recently, from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance on July 15.

In Ramey’s first interview with Crystal Ferree, she said Jeremy Ferree had built their home and they did not owe any money on it, and that they did have insurance through Indiana Farm Bureau. She allegedly said they had let the policy lapse for financial reasons and she had recently purchased insurance again.

When asked where she was the night of the fire, Crystal Ferree allegedly said she left home around 11 a.m. that day and went to Bloomington with her son. She said the two went shopping then went to McCormick’s Creek State Park to go hiking then spent the night at the park. She said her daughter was the last person to be in the house the night of the fire, before leaving to go to a party in Linton. Crystal Ferree also allegedly said that her husband had gone out on his new Harley Davidson motorcycle with a friend or family member in Bloomington that night and late Monday morning, the time of the interview, she said she didn’t really know where he was but it was either Bloomington or Ellettsville. Jeremy Ferree actually arrived on the scene while Ramey was talking to Crystal Ferree.

When asked where he was the night of the fire, Jeremy Ferree allegedly said he’d just purchased a Harley and had gone to Ellettsville to meet up with a family member and they went out to Brothers Bar in Bloomington. He said he left for home around 2-2:30 and though his phone rang about 10 times on the ride he didn’t stop until he got to his work/office which is just down the lane from his home. When he called his father, he learned his house was on fire and he then went to the scene.

Ramey also interviewed the couple’s daughter and her female friend who had been hanging out at the house before they left to go to a friend’s house. After they left, they turned around and went back when the daughter got a phone call from Crystal Ferree asking her daughter to go make sure her prescription medication was secure. They then left again around 10 p.m. When they heard there was a fire, they returned to the scene, followed by Jeremy Ferree about 10 minutes later, followed by Crystal Ferree and her son about 10 minutes after that.

Ramey also talked to Richard Howard, a private fire investigator hired by Farm Bureau Insurance. According to Howard, the house was insured for approximately $600,000 and the couple had filed a claim shortly after the fire and were paid an initial amount of $10,000. As a result of Howard’s investigation, he told Ramey that the couple had twice filed for divorce, the most recent one in June.

According to Ramey’s affidavit, other things that surfaced during the investigation included the fact that the business and their personal affairs were suffering from financial distress, their marriage was not going well, their utilities had been disconnected at recent times, the daughter went back to make sure the dog was outside, and that Jeremy had substantial bills and payroll coming due without money to cover everything.

While Ramey’s investigation was ongoing, an anonymous source called in a tip to CrimeStoppers and LPD Chief Paul Clark started looking into the surveillance cameras that were present at the Ferree Mill. Clark determined the cameras had been turned off the afternoon before the fire and had been turned back on the day after the fire.

On August 8, a search warrant was granted for the Ferree Log Home business property to look for evidence including the surveillance system with storage device and all electronic media stored on the system as well as jewelry, photographs, cash, important documents and medication, guns, electronics and pets.

Chief Clark reported when the warrant was executed by LPD officers and deputies from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, they found the surveillance camera, totes containing clothes, shoes, a purse and family memorabilia, white trash bags containing clothes and other items.

After reviewing the information, items and evidence gathered at that time, on August 8, the investigator changed the classification of the fire from “undetermined” to “incendiary.”

The investigator also obtained cell phones from the couple and the phones were examined by the Indiana State Police Lab as was the surveillance camera and associated data which was examined by the ISP Cyber Crimes Unit.

Ramey’s affidavit details the information that was obtained from the cell phones and the surveillance system and reported: The system was shut off on August 4 at 2:23 p.m. and turned back on at 3:29 p.m. on August 5; text messages included arguments between the couple over money and bills and over being unfaithful to each other; and a message that mentioned Crystal was “prepping.”

The surveillance system allegedly recorded some of that “prepping.” Ramey reported the system was recording on August 3, the day before the fire, around 2 p.m. when Crystal Ferree backed her SUV up to the office building and unloaded three plastic totes and a white trash bag out of her vehicle into the office building where they were found during the search.

Ramey said, “This officer believes that the clothes, shoes, purse and coffee cup located inside the totes and plastic bags were items removed out of Crystal and Jeremy’s house so they would not burn up in the fire.”

Ramey continued, “I observed that Jeremy arrived and left the mill multiple times on August 3, 2019. At 2:17:08 p.m., Jeremy arrives at the mill again. Jeremy walks to the office a few minutes later, walks inside the office, walks over to the DVR for the cameras and then at 2:23 p.m., the cameras go black and are not recording.” Ramey added that when the cameras started recording again, they showed Jeremy Ferree walking around the office with another man.

Ramey states, “This officer believes that Jeremy shut the surveillance cameras off to avoid video evidence of the crime of arson being collected… .”

GPS data from the couple’s cell phones was analyzed by Deputy Indiana State Fire Marshal Joe Tanasovich who is tasked with reviewing and analyzing cell phone data, and provided more information on their whereabouts the night of the fire.

According to Tanasovich, Jeremy Ferree’s cell phone was in the Ellettsville and Bloomington area that night but left that area at 1:14 a.m. traveling to Spencer, then Worthington then Switz City, arriving in the Linton area around 2:20 a.m., approximately one hour and ten minutes prior to the fire being reported. Ramey said this information contradicts Jeremy Ferree’s statements.

According to Tanasovich, Crystal Ferree’s cell phone arrived at McCormick’s Creek State Park at 7 p.m. and stayed there until 4:10 a.m. when it traveled to Linton.

Ramey concluded that he believed Jeremy and Crystal Ferree conspired to commit the crime of arson. He said after reviewing all of the evidence, he believes Jeremy Ferree is the person who set his house on fire at approximately 3:20 a.m. and that Crystal Ferree conspired with Jeremy Ferree to set the house on fire.

Jeremy and Crystal Ferree were both booked in to the Greene County Jail where their bonds were set at $30,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

At some point before 5 p.m. today, Tuesday, August 27, Jeremy Ferree posted bond and was released, but Crystal Ferree – she was still in jail.