Court dismisses appeal over arson damage to home

An appellate court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal in a case that sought to force an insurance company to pay for damage to a Jackson home caused by a fire a teenage boy intentionally set in an attempt to cover up the murder of his grandmother.

William Lindley sued American Family Mutual Insurance Co. after the company said his claim was precluded under his homeowner's policy because of the actions of his grandson, Joshua Allen Wolf.

On May 8, 2000, Wolf, then 16, set fire to the home in which he had fatally shot Carol Jean Lindley two days earlier.

Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court Judge William L. Syler entered a summary judgment in favor of the insurance company.

William Lindley appealed, but a panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District in St. Louis dismissed the case saying it lacked jurisdiction in the matter.

Wolf's criminal case was moved to Boone County, where a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and second-degree arson in April 2000. Wolf had pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect.

In October, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District in Kansas City upheld the convictions.

Wolf, now 19, is serving two concurrent life sentences plus seven years at the Farmington Correctional Center. He will never be eligible for parole.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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