Bloglander

A mysterious North Idaho house fire. An anti-tax lawyer hounded by the federal government for alleged tax fraud. An underground bunker with dozens of firearms. An adopted daughter from Kazakhstan who makes allegations of rape.

The story of David Jacquot fascinated me the moment I read of his mistrial on federal child-molestation charges in the Bonner County Daily Bee. For all the allegations made against him, Jacquot — our subject for the cover story of tomorrow’s edition — has yet to be convicted on either molestation or tax fraud charges.

If the allegations are true, Jacquot’s life story seems one of greed, lust, betrayal and lies. If false, Jacquot seems a man beset by his daughter’s betrayal and the misfortune of being targeted by the United States government.

What’s true? What isn’t? What do we know? What don’t we?

Why was David found 200 feet away from his house while it burned down with his wife and son inside? How did he receive the injuries that left him claiming to be unable to speak and having amnesia? Why was a single walkie-talkie and part of a handgun found outside a Quonset hut — which itself appeared to be smeared with blood — near the house? Will the Bonner County Attorney’s Office file charges once the federal charges are resolved? What do they know about the fire that wasn’t publicly released?

I got the sense while writing this story that some of these answers will never surface. Maybe Jacquot himself does not remember the fire. Maybe he does but will never talk. Maybe the strange details of the fire scene will linger on with speculators, suggesting scenarios that never were.

Regardless, the disintegration of a home — and the family inside it — are real enough.