five residents in the burn evacuation areas who died of heart attacks. Although a sixth man also died of a heart attack after the fire was set, prosecutors could not link that death to the stress of the fire directly. The deaths of an additional fourteen people may be associated with this fire, killed two months later when a mudslide ripped through a camp in Waterman Canyon. A jury would later assign 30% of responsibility for the deaths to CALTRANS, citing inadequate engineering of Highway 18. On January 21, 2010, the San Bernardino County prosecutor announced that he would seek the death penalty. Fowler then recanted his confession, saying that he had admitted to the crime only to appease authorities so that he could be transferred to a prison closer to his mother. In September 2011, Fowler moved to dismiss the indictment because the prosecutors had failed to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. In January 2012, he was reportedly discussing a plea bargain, but no plea bargain was reached and the case went to trial. The trial started in July 2012 in San Bernardino, having been rescheduled from January. Prosecutors charged with special circumstances which can bring the death penalty. On August 15, 2012, Fowler was convicted of five counts of murder and two counts of arson. On September 28, 2012, the jury returned a verdict of death. The death verdict was affirmed by the trial judge on January 28, 2013. Accidental ignition On August 7, 2007, local newspapers reported that 25-year-old Jeremiah D. Hope, of Riverside, faced federal charges for starting a blaze that eventually merged with the Old Fire. Authorities said Hope had been evacuated from his Crestline home when he and some friends off-roaded onto dry vegetation to get a better view of the Old Fire. The vehicle's catalytic converter reportedly sparked a second fire near Playground Road, which firefighters dubbed the Playground Fire. That fire quickly consumed forest land and became part of the Old Fire. Hope faced misdemeanor counts of causing the national forest to burn without a permit and one count of placing a vehicle in a dangerous area. Victims The victims identified were Charles Howard Cunningham, 93, of San Bernardino; Ralph Eugene McWilliams, 67, of Cedar Glen; Chad Leo Williams, 70, of Crestline; James William McDermoth, 70, of San Bernardino; and Robert Norman Taylor, 54, of San Bernardino. All five victims