Accused arson murderer set for hearing

Man accused of trapping his mother in fatal fire at home is scheduled for a change of plea

November 27, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A man accused of setting a fire that killed his mother on the Fourth of July is scheduled to change his not-guilty plea Monday, according to court records.

Timothy Weys, 24, who had been scheduled for a Nov. 21 jury trial, was living with his mother, Bonnie L. Weys, 58, on Willow Drive near Wasilla when she called 911 about 11:20 p.m. to report her house was on fire and she couldn't get out, according to charging documents.

Bonnie Weys quit talking to dispatchers, but could be heard coughing and gasping in the background, according to a report from investigators with Alaska State Troopers.

Central Mat-Su firefighters and emergency personnel arrived at the scene in about six minutes, according to the report, and found heavy smoke billowing from the home.

Firefighters made three unsuccessful attempts to enter the home, each time driven back by intense heat, the report said.

After they ventilated the building and were able to stay inside, visibility was limited to no more than 3 inches above the floor, the report said.

They knew Bonnie was in an upstairs bedroom and worked to find the corresponding stairwell, the report said. Two firefighters approaching from opposite directions found the stairwells blocked, with a playpen on the left and at least three bicycles on the right.

After clearing the stairwells, the firefighters found Bonnie lying unconscious on her bedroom floor, removed her and tried unsuccessfully to revive her, according to the report.

Bonnie Weys, mother of seven grown children, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Firefighters reported the fire was intense, and acted in ways that indicated it had been set with an accelerant, the report said. The blaze apparently originated near the center of the concrete floor in Timothy Weys' lower-level bedroom, the report said.

Investigators on scene spoke with Weys, who said he didn't know how the fire started, that he was sleeping on an upstairs couch at the time because it was too hot downstairs and that he tried to save his mother by throwing a small log through her bedroom window, the report said.

Weys admitted to trooper investigators in a voice mail message Aug. 12 that he started the fire with a book of matches and blankets, but that he didn't want his mother to die - he simply wanted a better life for her, the report said.

On Aug. 18, Weys told investigators in a face-to-face interview that he felt it was time he accepted responsibility for setting the fire because investigators would probably figure it out anyway, the report said.

In that interview, Weys said he started the fire to collect insurance money so he could build a new house for his mother, and that he waited until &#8220Seinfeld” was over and didn't wake his mother because he didn't want her to be able to put the fire out, but that he probably waited too long, the report said.

A grand jury indicted Timothy Weys Aug. 25 on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson, three counts of second-degree murder, manslaughter, first-degree criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence, according to court records.