Crime & Safety
Explosion Destroys House of Missing Woman; Boyfriend Badly Injured
Police said they believe James Borg deliberately caused the explosion by tampering with a dryer gas line.
A Joliet Township house that went up in flames Sunday night was the home of a missing Joliet woman, and her boyfriend -- who may have deliberately tampered with a gas line -- was severely injured in the explosion, officials said today.
Anne Gay, 52, and James Borg, 44, shared the house at 135 SE Circle Drive. Gay was reported missing in mid-June, and when the Will County Sheriff's Office put out a notice seeking the public's help in finding her, it was mentioned that the couple's relationship had been "abusive."
READ ALSO: Evidence of Corpse Found Inside Eastside Joliet Explosion Site: Police
Will County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Kaupas told the Joliet Herald-News that they believe Borg deliberately cut the gas line from a dryer in the house, causing the explosion. The valve was left “wide open,” he told the paper.
Borg sustained burns over 70 percent of his body, he said.
A press conference is scheduled for later today that should provide more details.
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