Sep 17, 2007 11:56 pm US/Central
Family Of Missing Man Says Fire Proves Foul Play
by Katie McCall
WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Missing blues guitarist John Spira. (File)
CBS
There are new developments Monday night in the search for a missing man.
John Spira was last seen in February, but Sunday night his business was burned to the ground.
As CBS 2's Katie McCall reports, the man known as "Chicago Johnny" was last seen at his business and his family says this fire proves he was the victim of foul play.
Tom Spira hasn't seen or heard from his brother John, a 45-year-old St. Charles resident and blues guitarist, since late February.
"I have good days and bad days," Tom Spira said. "I'll hear a song that I want to talk to my brother about and I can't pick up the phone and call him."
The investigation into John Spira's disappearance that began seven months ago with searches had all but stopped when Tom Spira got a call Sunday night saying the cable business John Spira co-owned was destroyed in a fire.
"It's clear now I hope to everybody that it wasn't just a coincidence," Tom Spira said. "We're hoping now what it does is re-spark the investigation."
Arson investigators with the DuPage County Sheriffs Department are now assigned to the fire at the building near West Chicago. The agency is also handling the missing persons case, but says so far there is no specific evidence of a suspicious fire.
Tom Spira says he has his own suspicions.
"There might be a motive because someone somewhere is going to get that money so maybe that will prompt the police to take a look at somebody," he said. "They've never brought anyone in for formal questioning."
He's hoping the fire investigation will reveal more about what really happened to John, who he believes was murdered, and that it will push whoever is responsible to come forward.
"Something happened in the heat of the moment and they're getting a lot of pressure on right now," Tom Spira said.
The family says they had put a sign up across the street about their missing brother. That sign was torn down Sunday morning and they believe whoever set the fire may have also taken it down.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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