John Leonard Orr - After The Trial, and Legacy

After The Trial, and Legacy

Orr is currently serving time in California state prison to serve the remainder of his life sentence.

Some arson investigators and an FBI criminal profiler have deemed Orr to be possibly one of the worst American serial arsonists of the twentieth century. Federal ATF agent Mike Matassa believes that Orr set nearly 2,000 fires between 1984 and 1991. Furthermore, arson investigators cited that after Orr was arrested, the number of brush fires in the nearby foothill areas decreased by over ninety percent. However, Orr continues to maintain his innocence, and wrote an autobiography stating that he was innocent and betrayed by the legal system

The story of John Orr has been chronicled by bestselling true crime author Joseph Wambaugh in a book entitled Fire Lover. On several occasions, film and television have also presented the story of Orr's arson activities and eventual arrest and criminal conviction. An episode of the PBS science series Nova titled "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" (aired November 14, 1995) chronicled the story of John Orr. In addition, the investigation that led to Orr's arrest and conviction was recounted on the episode "Diary of a Serial Arsonist" A&E Network's true crime series Cold Case Files. Most notably, a film entitled Point of Origin starring Ray Liotta as John Orr was released by the HBO network in the year 2002. The title of the film is a reference to novel Orr wrote that was titled Points of Origin, about a serial arsonist that happens to be a fireman. Arson investigators believe that Orr chronicled the arson fires that he set in the novel he wrote, and feel that some of the fires in the novel bear many similarities with fires that they believe Orr actually set. Orr states that the novel is a work of fiction and has no relation to any actual events. In an interview, defending his manuscript, Orr has expressly stated:

"The character of Aaron Styles was a composite of arsonists I arrested."