Bio

He was an American resident of Southern California and had no widely documented history of large-scale violent crime prior to 2003.

Fowler later came to the attention of investigators in connection with the Old Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires during California’s 2003 Firestorm, a period marked by extreme drought conditions, high temperatures, and powerful Santa Ana winds.

At the time of the fire, Fowler was reportedly associated with individuals who frequented mountain roadways in San Bernardino County, an area particularly vulnerable to wildfire ignition during wind events.

Murder Story

The Old Fire started on October 25, 2003, near Old Waterman Canyon Road and State Route 18 in the San Bernardino Mountains. The fire burned 91,281 acres and destroyed 993 homes. It caused six direct deaths and forced about 80,000 people to evacuate. Part of California State University, San Bernardino burned. The fire was fully contained on November 2, 2003, after rain and snow. The final cost of fighting the fire was $42 million, and total damages were at least $1.2 billion. The Old Fire was one of 15 large fires in Southern California that month in what became known as the 2003 Firestorm.

In 2009, Rickie Lee Fowler was charged with igniting the Old Fire. Authorities said he was a passenger in a white van seen leaving the area where the fire started. They said Fowler was seen throwing a lit flare into brush by the side of the road. The driver of the van, Martin David Valdez Jr., died of a gunshot wound in 2006. A grand jury indicted Fowler on October 19, 2009. He faced one count of arson of an inhabited structure, one count of aggravated arson, and five counts of murder. The five murder counts were based on residents in evacuation areas who later died of heart attacks.

On January 21, 2010, the San Bernardino County prosecutor said he would seek the death penalty. Fowler later recanted a confession and said he had admitted to the crime to be moved to a prison closer to his mother. In September 2011, Fowler moved to dismiss the indictment, saying prosecutors had not given exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. He reportedly discussed a plea bargain in January 2012, but no plea deal was reached. The trial began in July 2012.

On August 15, 2012, Fowler was convicted of five counts of murder and two counts of arson. On September 28, 2012, the jury returned a death verdict. The trial judge affirmed the death sentence on January 28, 2013.

The five victims identified were Charles Howard Cunningham, 93, of San Bernardino; Ralph Eugene McWilliams, 67, of Cedar Glen; Chad Leo Williams, 70, of Crestline; James William McDermoth, 70, of San Bernardino; and Robert Norman Taylor, 54, of San Bernardino. All five died from heart attacks linked to physical or emotional strain from the fire. A sixth man also died of a heart attack after the fire, but prosecutors could not directly link that death to the fire. An additional fourteen deaths may be associated with the fire when a mudslide hit a camp in Waterman Canyon two months later.