On April 6, 2008, the life of 16-year-old Ami Romans was cut short in a house fire in London, Ohio. Just after midnight, a blaze broke out at the family’s home on Lilly Chapel Opossum Road, starting in a 2001 Ford Expedition parked in the attached carport. The flames quickly engulfed the house, killing Ami, her 12-year-old brother, Caleb, and their mother, Billi Romans. Ami’s father, Peter Romans, was the only one to escape the fire.
Investigators soon determined the fire was not an accident and officially ruled it an arson. However, despite this finding, the case grew cold. For more than a decade, no arrests were made, and the community was left without answers about who was responsible for the deaths of the three family members. The case remained a painful, unresolved tragedy for those who knew the Romans family.
A major development came 11 years later when, in 2019, authorities arrested Peter Romans.
A grand jury indicted him on multiple counts of aggravated murder and arson. Prosecutors accused him of intentionally setting the fire that killed his wife and two children. Throughout the investigation and after his arrest, Peter Romans maintained his innocence.
During the legal proceedings, the defense argued that a faulty part on the family’s SUV, which was under a recall at the time, had caused the fire. His attorney asserted that Peter Romans was a grieving husband and father who had spent years mourning his family, not a murderer. Peter Romans was held on a $4 million bond and opted to be tried by a three-judge panel rather than a jury.
In October 2020, the trial concluded. After hearing the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense, the three-judge panel found Peter Romans not guilty on all counts of aggravated murder and arson. Following the acquittal, the case returned to its previous status. As of October 2020, the deaths of Ami, Caleb, and Billi Romans remain unsolved.
