Parker County sheriff: Man set 3 fires in effort to kill ex-wife, kids

A Parker County man is accused of setting three fires in 2010 in an attempt to kill his ex-wife and their children.

Michael Blue, 45, told investigators that he would not have minded if his ex-wife had died in the fires because he was “so angry with her at the time,” Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said in a news release.

Blue also admitted knowing that his children were in the homes when he set the fires, Fowler said.

Blue was arrested Wednesday at his home. He faces three charges of attempted capital murder by arson and three charges of arson. He was in the Parker County Jail on Friday, and bail had not been set.

The ex-wife and children were not injured in the fires, authorities said.

The Texas Rangers led the investigation, assisted by officers with the Weatherford-Parker County Special Crimes Unit.

“I believe a house was burned to the ground in one of those cases,” Fowler said Friday.

Investigators examined arson cases at 315 King Ranch Court on Feb. 6, 2010; 1851 Zion Hill Loop on March 7, 2010; and 101 Brock Hill Lane on March 31, 2010.

The fires, all set in garages, were started by someone tampering with electrical boxes, using accelerants and placing connected batteries inside trash cans, authorities said.

The homes were owned by Blue’s former in-laws, Fowler said.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Parker County sheriff: Man set 3 fires in effort to kill ex-wife, kids."