As Wauconda firefighters responded to a house fire in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, homeowner Ari Squire appeared to have died in the deadly blaze.
Charred remains were found under a truck in the garage where the fire broke out, suggesting Ali was crushed while trying to repair the car.
But as the investigation continues, detectives make a shocking discovery, all while horrifying to discover a murder suspect is on the loose. Oxygen accident, suicide or murder Taking a closer look at this crime, nothing is as it seems.
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Fatal fire at Ali Squire’s house in 2008
It began on February 23, 2008, when Ali’s wife, Denise Squire, called 911 to report a fire at her home in Lake Barrington.
“Hey, I think there’s a fire in my garage,” she told the dispatcher. “I heard these noises and I went to open the door and it was dark inside.”
Emergency crews arrived to find Dennis standing in the yard. She told authorities that her husband, Ali, and his white truck were missing.
“The fire department was able to successfully extinguish the fire,” said retired Lake County Sheriff Sgt. John Lucas explains. “As they entered, they observed the white pickup truck and that the entire garage had smoke damage, but the fire was mostly contained to the engine compartment and the floor beneath the truck.”
While further analyzing the scene, authorities discovered a body underneath the truck that appeared to have fallen from the jack, trapping the victim underneath the front of the vehicle.
“The truck basically landed directly on top of the body,” said retired Lake County Sheriff Marc Curran. “So you’re talking about, you know, the weight of thousands of pounds and the force of the fall on the body, it was a certain way to die.”
The fire severely damaged the victim’s head and torso, but detectives found a wallet in the man’s jeans and identified him as Ali. When they broke the news to Denise that her husband of 14 years had died, Lucas noted that she seemed “relatively calm.”
Ali Squire
She explained to investigators that she woke up around 8 a.m., heard three loud bangs and ran to the garage to find it filled with smoke. Although she called out to Ali – described by others as a gentle soul with a knack for self-healing – he never responded.
“To me, it looks like an accidental fire,” Lucas noted.
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Strange clues at the crime scene
However, an unusual discovery was made at the crime scene. Even though Ali was an experienced car enthusiast, nothing was placed under the truck in case it fell off the jack that was placed in an unusual location. The truck also has no scratches or dents. In addition, even though Ali had been working on a diesel truck, the smell of gasoline still permeated the scene.
They also noticed that the circuit board was turned off (eliminating the possibility of an electrical fire) and that a propane torch in the garage was turned on, suggesting the fire may have been set intentionally.
“That’s a big, big red flag that we’re investigating as arson,” Lucas said of the discovery.
Although Dennis told detectives that Ali had no insurance, they later discovered that he did have an insurance policy that would have netted Dennis, his primary beneficiary, millions of dollars in compensation if he died.
They also learned that Ali was facing severe financial difficulties at the time of his death. Although he once served as president of a home health care company, his career collapsed after he was accused of filing false cost reports and misusing company funds. Ali was placed under house arrest for the crime and ordered to repay the money and compensation. He started his own construction business, but also ran into trouble during the 2008 housing crisis.
More warnings sounded when the coroner was unable to identify the remains. They noticed unique characteristics of the body, such as the victim’s age and tattoos, that did not match Ali’s description. A forensic dentist determined the victim was closer to 20 years old than Ali, who was 40.
Justin Newman
It all led Curran to wonder, “Was Ali Squire involved in the murder of the man under Ali’s truck, and was he on the lam somewhere?”
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Who is Justin Newman?
While investigators were still trying to make sense of the puzzling clues, Ari’s business partner reached out to them to tell them that he had learned that a man hired by Ari, later identified as 20-year-old Justin Newman, had gone missing the same day as the fire.
“We sent some investigators out to talk to Justin’s mom,” Lucas said. “She’s an absolute wreck.”
Justin had been working at Home Depot for $10 an hour, using his earnings to support his family, when Ali approached him about the opportunity to work at his construction company, offering a higher wage and mentorship.
Justin’s mother last saw him on February 23, when Justin was scheduled to meet with Ali to discuss the job. Later that night, she received a text from him saying he was leaving for work in Missouri, but the message seemed unusual. Additionally, he never returned to collect any clothing or other items for the trip.
During the interview, investigators learned that Justin’s physical description matched the body found at the morgue, and a DNA sample was collected from Justin’s mother and sent for testing.
Investigation leads to deadly development
As the investigation into Ali continued, authorities learned that he had also approached another Home Depot employee – one with a striking physical resemblance to his own – in an attempt to get him to come work for him, but the employee found some aspects of the offer odd, such as requesting job application information about his tattoos and bank passwords. The man rejected Ali, who then set his sights on Justin.
On March 2, Eureka police officer Bob Watson spotted a suspicious car in the parking lot of a hotel in Eureka, Missouri. The car was registered to Justin, an endangered missing person.
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Watson and several other officers knocked on the door of the hotel room where Justin checked into.
“We called Justin multiple times and no one responded, which took our concerns to a whole new level,” Watson recalled. “The waiter opened the door and then suddenly a gunshot rang out.”
Inside, they found Ali – who had assumed Justin’s identity – dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Who killed Justin Newman?
Investigators concluded Ali killed Justin, set the house on fire, and then assumed Justin’s identity in an attempt to escape mounting financial problems.
“This was all for some money, to pay off some debt, and it’s just disgusting,” said Justin’s friend Heather Mufalay. “No matter what happened in your life, you not only chose to kill my friend, my brother, my son. You chose to kill a 20-year-old kid who had his life in front of him.”
After the fire, investigators discovered email communications between Ali and Dennis and suspected Dennis of being involved in the plot.
According to Curran, “It appears that Dennis Squire absolutely knew that Ali was alive and that he was instructing her on what he wanted to happen and what needed to be done next.”
However, they were never able to prove her involvement in the crime, and Denise was never charged.
She eventually received $6 million in life insurance benefits, but Justin’s family took her to civil court, where she was found civilly liable for Justin’s death and ordered to pay them $6 million.