Rose guilty of lesser charge

Two days of deliberation draw to close, Rose convicted of nine counts

By Erick Schmidt

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Nineteen months after a deadly fire at Boardwalk Apartments in October 2005, Jason Allen Rose was convicted of involuntary manslaughter along with seven accompanying charges Friday.

Rose was convicted of starting the fire, which killed residents Jose Gonzalez, Helen “Yolanda” Riddle and KU student Nicole Bingham. Rose was found guilty of aggravated arson, three counts of involuntary manslaughter and seven counts of aggravated battery. The case originally went to trial in February but was declared a mistrial because of a late-surfacing witness.

Rose originally faced charges of first-degree murder, but the jury settled on involuntary manslaughter, which means Rose killed the three victims and did so in a reckless manner. Sentencing will be held June 16.

Kansan staff writer Erick R. Schmidt can be contacted at eschmidt@kansan.com.

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