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Maine Authorities Seek Information in Boy's Decades-Old Fire Death

LEWISTON, Maine - The Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit is seeking information about the death of a 14-year-old boy in a decades-old fire at a South Paris home. 

State Police spokesman Steve McCausland says there are about 80 names on the unsolved homicides list and that officials are highlighting investigations on the anniversaries of their deaths.

A posting on the Maine State Police Facebook page says that in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, 1989,  Steven O'Neil had helped his step-parent and two younger step-brothers escape the burning home through a second-story window before he died of smoke inhalation. 

McCausland says an investigation revealed that the fire was intentionally set with a flammable liquid. A suspect was interviewed in the case.

McCausland says officials are asking anyone with information about the incident - or any of the open cases - to contact Maine State Police.

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.