Judge Allows Explosion Investigation to Remain Under Wraps

By Daniel Hawn

Published on July 13, 2007

Judge Robert Wohn Jr. decided that attorneys for Amanda Lewis may not obtain evidence from a police investigation into the April explosion. The blast killed Joshua Leigh Jackson – Lewis' boyfriend – and his 8-month-old-daughter, Ja'Miyah Jackson.

Lewis is seeking to file a wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Melbourne Housing Authority and the gas company of failing to act on reports of gas leaks.

Police said they have focused their investigation on whether Jackson stole a clothes dryer from a neighboring apartment, creating a gas leak in the process.

After obtaining a search warrant, police found a dryer among the rubble in Jackson's apartment. When investigators examined an adjacent apartment, where the explosion started, they discovered that a dryer was missing.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the families of Jackson and his daughter, denounced the judge’s decision to keep the results of the investigation secret. He said the ruling was unfair and that the families are entitled to see the investigators' evidence.

The Housing Authority intends to tear down the apartments damaged by the blast. Housing Authority CEO Ron Sellers said the units are structurally unsound.

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