A January 20, 1974 house fire on Princeton Drive in New Whiteland, Indiana, revealed more than an accidental blaze. Fire and police investigators found William Patrick, his wife Elizabeth Ann, and their one-year-old daughter Heidi dead in the charred home. Evidence of a violent struggle and the odor of gasoline led authorities to conclude William and Elizabeth had been asphyxiated before the fire, while Heidi died of smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation.

Investigators focused on David James Roberts after William, a salesman at a Sears Auto Center in Indianapolis, identified him in a theft incident months earlier. Roberts had reportedly been seen near Princeton Drive in the days before the fire and bought gasoline and a five-gallon can on the evening of January 19. Roberts was arrested January 26, 1974, tried, found guilty on multiple counts including murder and arson, and received five life sentences plus a separate term for arson.

Does anyone have memories of the New Whiteland community at that time or information about the Patrick family that could add context to the case?