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SALT LAKE CITY — The estranged husband of prominent restaurateur John Williams intentionally set fire to their Capitol Hill home, then wandered to a neighbor's house and sprayed water on trees and plants as the blaze burned and consumed the man, investigators say.
Craig A. Crawford, 47, was charged Wednesday with one count each of aggravated murder and aggravated arson, first-degree felonies, in a "domestic violence information" filed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. The aggravated murder charge is a capital offense potentially punishable by death.
Crawford started the fire in the foyer on the second floor of the four-story house at 574 N. East Capitol St., in the early morning hours of May 22, according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court. The blaze rendered the stairway to the upper levels unusable, trapping Williams in the fourth level bedroom where firefighters found him dead on the floor.
An autopsy determined Williams, 71, died of smoke inhalation, the charges state.
Williams was apparently alive when firefighters arrived at the house as they reported hearing cries for help from a man inside.
While searching for Williams, firefighters found the staircase leading to the third and fourth floors largely collapsed, preventing them from reaching the upper levels of the home from the interior. Firefighters used two ladders on the outside of the house and cut an access hole in the wall to reach the home's third level, then broke a window to reach the fourth floor.
"The stairway would be the only way out of the residence for persons on the upper levels," Salt Lake police detective Marcos Garaycochea wrote. "With the stairway rendered unusable, persons on the upper levels would be trapped."
Williams told a friend at dinner the night before that he was ending his relationship with Crawford, according the charges. Williams expressed fear of Crawford and discussed obtaining a restraining order against him.
During dinner, Williams received multiple calls from Crawford on his cellphone and the restaurant staff came to the table to tell him Crawford was on the restaurant phone asking to talk to him, the charges state. The friend told investigators he was concerned about Williams going home while Crawford was there.
Court records show Williams filed for divorce from Crawford on May 4. Williams petitioned for a temporary restraining order against Crawford but was denied May 6, according to court records. Crawford also sought a protective order against Williams that was denied on May 13.
Williams was president of Gastronomy, which operates the popular Market Street Grill, Market Street Oyster Bar and the New Yorker restaurants. He restored and renovated old buildings into some of the city's hippest office space. He helped found the Downtown Alliance 25 years ago. He championed the local arts, Salt Lake City's Olympic bid and other community organizations.
Several of Williams' family and friends told investigators that Crawford made multiple statements that he would be rich when Williams was dead. They also say Crawford expressed a desire to set the house on fire or how he wished the home would burn down, according to the charging documents.
A neighbor first reported the fire at 1:18 a.m. The neighbor said Crawford came to her door shortly after she got off the phone with a 911 operator. She described Crawford as calm and said he told her he wanted to show her something in his kitchen. She then watched Crawford walk back toward the burning house, the charges say.
A group of young people in the area saw the smoke and flames coming from the house and two of them walked up the outside stairs next to the garage where they saw a man matching Crawford's description in the courtyard. He was using a hose to spray water on some trees and plants but not on the house or toward the fire, according to the charges.
Investigators found Crawford's vehicle in the garage but did not see him around the house. A check of phone records determined that a 911 hang-up call was made from Crawford's cellphone at 2:57 a.m., police say. A second 911 hang-up call was made from Crawford's phone at 3:30 a.m., the charges state.
When a 911 operator called the number back, a man answered and said he meant to dial 411, the charges state.
"There was no record that Crawford ever reported the fire to emergency personnel," the court document states.
Crawford allegedly walked up to the house about 7 a.m. while police and firefighters were still on the scene. One officer noticed a cut on Crawford's hand. Crawford told the officer he received the injury during the fire, according to the charges.
Damage to the house was estimated at $750,000.
An attorney for Williams was helping his client evict Crawford from the home and posted a five-day eviction notice on the house two days before the fire on May 20, the charges state.
Crawford remained in the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday where he is being held without bail.
