Cops use pacemaker data to charge homeowner with arson, insurance fraud

Police called pacemaker data an 'excellent investigative tool' that provided 'key pieces of evidence' to charge a man with arson and insurance fraud




A month later, 59-year-old homeowner Ross Compton was arrested and charged with felony aggravated arson and insurance fraud. The cause of the fire was still undetermined, but it had resulted $400,000 in damages to the house and contents of the 2,000-square-foot home.

Fire investigators knew there had been “multiple points of origin of the fire from the outside of the residence.” At the time, the police cited inconsistencies in Compton’s statements when compared with the evidence from the fire.

There were additional “conflicting statements” given to the 911 operator; Compton had said “everyone” was out of the house, yet the 911 operator also heard him tell someone to “get out of here now.” In the 911 call published by WLWT5, an out-of-breath Compton claimed he had “grabbed a bunch of stuff, threw it out the window.” He claimed to have packed his suitcases, broken the glass out of bedroom window with his walking stick, and tossed the suitcases outside.

Compton also told the dispatcher he had “an artificial heart.”

After this, things really get interesting because police investigators used data from Compton’s electronic heart device against him. Isn’t that self-incrimination? Can a person “plead the Fifth” when it comes to self-incriminating data collected from their medical device?



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It’s worth noting that gasoline was also found on various pieces of Compton’s clothing. Could police have indicted him without using the data from his pacemaker against him?

Copyright © 2017 IDG Communications, Inc.

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