Daniel Dougherty, twice convicted of arson deaths of his 2 sons, to judge in new trial: ‘It’s a bunch of bull’

In a dark suit and striped tie belying the nearly two decades he has spent in prison, Daniel Dougherty wheeled himself into a Philadelphia courtroom Wednesday morning, then rose and limped to a wooden chair behind the defense table and sat down facing Judge J. Scott O’Keefe.

For the third time, a jury will be asked to determine whether Dougherty set the 1985 fire in his Oxford Circle rowhouse that killed his two young sons.

But first, O’Keefe asked a series of procedural questions. His age? “59.” How far did he go in school? “Enough.” Is he under the influence of drugs or alcohol? “I wish, ’cause I need it.” Is he aware of a plea deal offered by prosecutors? “It’s a bunch of bull.”

Dougherty has maintained his innocence since the night of Aug. 15, 1985, when a fire destroyed the home where he lived with his girlfriend, her young son, and his two boys, 3-year-old John and 4-year-old Daniel Jr.

He was charged 14 years later with starting the fire and killing his sons, after his ex-wife claimed he had confessed to the crime.

In her opening argument Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Martin told the jury that Dougherty was an unwilling father who intentionally set three fires in the house and left his two sons to die alone in their upstairs bedroom.

“This fire started in three separate places,” Martin said. “Accidental fires don’t start in three different places.”

Defense attorney David S. Fryman, who is leading a three-lawyer team from Ballard Spahr representing Dougherty pro bono, said the fire didn’t start in three different places. Rather, he said, it was caused by “flashover,” a condition that can mimic arson.

Fryman said his client was asleep on his living-room couch when he awoke to find flames engulfing his home, and made the costly mistake of running outside to try to get a garden hose instead of running upstairs to rescue his sons.

“This fire was tragic,” Fryman said. “A tragic mistake.”

Dougherty is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and arson causing death. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Had he accepted a deal to plead guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and one count of arson, he would have been immediately eligible for parole.

Two previous trials found him guilty, but state Superior Court overturned those verdicts, ruling the trials were unfair.