After more than 13 hours of deliberation, the jury foreman in Jonathan Rinderknech's arson trial tells the judge the jury was split, 10 in favor of not guilty, two in favor of guilty.
In 2025, after dropping off an Uber passenger in Pacific Palisades, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknech parked his car, tries but failes to contact a former friend. He gets out of the car, walks up a nearby trail, takes iPhone videos, and listens to a rap song. Its music video includes objects being lit on fire.
Then, twelve minutes into the new year, a fire is started. With weak cell service, Rinderknecht walks back down the trail, continually calling 911 until he finally connects, only to find out other residents already reported the fire.
As Rinderknecht drives away, he passes firefighters and turns back to watch them on the scene. He records while firefighters quickly extinguish the blaze, or so they thought.
The dense underbrush makes it difficult to see, and the roots underground continue to smolder. A week after the 911 calls reporting the Lachman fire, the Santa Ana Winds create an explosion of deadly fire, spreading the remains of the Lachman fire across LA, freshly named the Palisades fire.
Investigators question Rinderknecht as he repeatedly called 911 about the January 1st fire.During those calls, Rinderknecht asked ChatGPT, "Are you at fault if a fire is lit because of your cigarettes?"
Rinderknecht gives conflicting statements about whether he smoked near the trail that night and where he was when he called. Rinderknecht claims he was at the bottom of the trail, but location data shows while speaking with 911, he’s just 30 feet from the fire’s origin.
Ultimately, Rinderknecht is charged. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang polled the jury panel, asking if more deliberations could thaw the deadlock. Each juror answered no. How will the judge rule?
The Palisades fire killed 12 people, destroying more than 6,800 structures, both homes and businesses, and damaging over 1,000 more buildings.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Stephanie Lydecker - Executive Producer & Host of True Crime Tonight; Founder & CEO of KT-Studios.com
Alexandra Pfeifer - Victim
Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive
Dina Doll - Attorney, Trial Consultant, Mediator & Legal Analyst, Doll Amir Eley, LLP
Moses Castillo - Private Investigator for the Dordulian Law Group, Former Supervisor Detective from The Los Angeles Police Department
Nicholle Brock - Firefighter, EMT, and Arson Expert
Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
Shannon Butler - Investigative Reporter at WFTV Channel 9, Florida
Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
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