25 Investigates: Natick deadly fire ‘suspicious’

NATICK, Mass. — Middlesex DA Marian Ryan described the fire that killed a Harvard Law School lecturer as, “suspicious”. In an April, 2021 motion to impound search warrants related to the criminal investigation Ryan writes, “this case may be presented to the grand jury for investigation and possible indictment.” The motion is the only public document in this case.

The early morning fire killed 74-year-old David Cope. Cope taught at Harvard Law school for more than 20 years. He and his wife had been living in the 1.3-million-dollar home at 29 Longfellow Rd in Natick for less than a year before the fire. According to public records, the couple also kept an apartment in Cambridge.

Initially, it had been reported that Cope became trapped in an upstairs bedroom and could not be rescued. His wife was able to escape without serious injury. Most of the heavily damaged home is still standing but rear portions of the structure have collapsed.

Joe Zanchi lives across the street. He’s seen ATF agents and other law enforcement at the home on at least two occasions. During one visit in August, a large command truck belonging to the Office of the State Fire Marshal was parked in front of the house for hours. Dogs trained to detect accelerants have also been brought to the property

Zanchi said people in the neighborhood have a lot of questions. “Why did this occur with a brand new structure, we were told it was not workmanship, it was not a malfunction or equipment failure. A man lost his life and of course it’s still sitting there as though it happened yesterday,” he said.

Mike Vergon is a retired ATF agent and certified fire investigator. He told Investigative reporter Ted Daniel authorities have likely developed a theory of what happened to Cope. Detectives are required to a have a legal basis or probable cause to obtain search warrants.

Vergon says suspected arson cases can be difficult to prove. “Rarely do you have an eyewitness to someone actually taking a light or a match and setting something, it’s very circumstantial. A lot of science involved. These things aren’t taken lightly. They have to be very thorough, and they have to be able to prove what they’re setting out to prove,” Vergon said.

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