Man convicted for 1984 Beverly fire that killed 15 granted new trial

Local News

A rooming house in Beverly went up in flames in 1984, leading to the conviction of James Carver.

In 1989, James Carver was sentenced to life in prison for starting a fire at a rooming house in Beverly that killed 15 people. A judge granted him a new trial last week, ruling that new developments in fire science and eyewitness identification in the decades since warrant such a decision. 

Judge Jeffrey Karp of Essex County Superior Court ruled in favor of Carver. Now 61, Carver has been imprisoned since his conviction and always maintained his innocence. Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office is appealing Karp’s ruling. 

“Last week, we received the Court’s decision allowing the defendant’s fifth motion for a new trial. His four previous motions, and several appeals, were denied. We respectfully disagree with the ruling and, after careful review, have made the decision to appeal,” Tucker said in a statement to Boston.com Tuesday. “Our decision reflects our analysis of the strength of the case against the defendant, including his motive, threats, and multiple admissions to having committed the crime. We are in the process of attempting to locate and notify the families of the fifteen victims who were killed in the fire.”

In his 68-page decision, Karp outlined the lengthy history of the case and explained his reasoning for granting a new trial. 

The fire at the Elliott Chambers rooming house in Beverly occurred in the early morning hours of July 4, 1984. Prosecutors argued that Carver took a stack of newspapers from a nearby drug store, stuffed them into an alcove at the entrance to the rooming house, poured an accelerant onto the papers and set them ablaze. The case against Carver centered on his supposed jealousy over an ex-girlfriend who he thought was speaking to someone living at the rooming house. 

That man, Rick Nickerson, was one of the 15 victims. The youngest victim was Nickerson’s 9-year-old brother Ralph, and the oldest was 73-year-old Hattie Whary, their grandmother, according to a report in UPI from 1984. 

Carver was not indicted until 1988. His first trial was deemed a mistrial after “prosecutorial misconduct” regarding discovery was found, according to Karp’s summary. A jury convicted Carver on 15 counts of second degree murder after a second trial, and he was sentenced to life in prison. 

In the years since, Carver has appealed for a new trial five times. One was based on claims that a man in prison had admitted to starting the fire. Another was based on claims by Carver that his defense attorney created a conflict of interest by allegedly having sexual relations with Carver’s then-wife during the trial, according to Karp’s summary. All four appeals for a new trial failed, until now. 

Karp’s ruling is based on evidentiary hearings that occurred last spring. Two fire science experts and an eyewitness identification and memory expert testified, and dozens of exhibits were introduced.  

At the time, fire investigators mostly lacked scientific training and relied on practical experience and “rules of thumb,” Karp wrote. Their procedures and methodologies were largely not standardized until 1992, when the National Fire Protection Association published a guide for fire investigators based on the scientific method. This guide, which is seen as the gold standard for fire investigations, debunked common beliefs that investigators used before. 

Examples include the belief that the lowest point of burn is always the point of the fire’s origin and the belief that “alligatoring” is evidence of a flammable accelerant. “Alligatoring” refers to a specific pattern on surfaces caused by flames that resembles alligator skin. Before the NFPA guide, investigators, including the one who examined the wreckage of the rooming house in Beverly, relied on “process of elimination reasoning.” Broadly, this means that if investigators could not find an accidental cause of a fire, they determined it was set intentionally. 

Karp also explained how the science of eyewitness identification and memory has evolved significantly since Carver’s trial in 1989. Now, experts agree that human memory “does not work like a videorecorder.” The way that human memory works is now understood to have a serious risk of introducing factual errors into their recollection. The way that Carver was identified, by a person who did not know him, has multiple holes when looked at through a modern lens. 

Karp’s full decision can be read below.

Karp Ruling – James Carver by Ross Cristantiello on Scribd