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Thump-Thump, Thump-Thump

When Ross Compton’s Middletown, Ohio, house caught on fire, he called 911 and noted, “I grabbed a bunch of stuff, threw it out the window” after smashing it — suitcases full of belongings, in fact. He also told the dispatcher he has an artificial heart. After investigators decided the fire was suspicious, since it had multiple points of origin, they talked to his cardiologist, who said it was “highly improbable” that Compton could do something so strenuous. Detectives apparently got a unique search warrant to get Compton’s heart rate, pacer demand, and cardiac rhythms from his heart monitor, comparing what they were before, during and after the fire. “It was one of the key pieces of evidence that allowed us to charge him” with arson and insurance fraud, said Middletown Police Lt. Jimmy Cunningham. Well, that and the gasoline found on Compton’s clothing. Compton says he “had no motive whatsoever to burn down my house.” (RC/WLWT Cincinnati) ...For once, the police know what’s really in his heart.