Arson suspect accused of targeting ex-Viking Dave Osborn's family

A suspected arson fire targeting the family of former Vikings running back Dave Osborn led to a close escape for him, his wife and four other people last week, and authorities say the culprit is a 21-year-old driven by a grudge against Osborn's grandson.

Osborn and his wife, Beverly, were housesitting for their daughter in Apple Valley when the fire started about 1:30 a.m. Friday. A noise awakened Beverly Osborn, and she got up and saw the orange light of a fire coming from an outdoor entryway, Dave Osborn said.

The Osborns, their granddaughter and three other teenage girls got out safely, but the top half of the three-story house burned. Authorities allege that the arsonist was watching all along, taking photos and videotaping the scene, even before firefighters arrived.

"We're all OK," Dave Osborn, 68, said. "There were six of us in the house. Had we not gotten out, it could have been six cases of murder."

The Apple Valley man who allegedly had a grudge against the Osborns' 19-year-old grandson has been charged with first- and second-degree arson.

The Dakota County criminal complaint says that Aaron Ferrarese tried to commit suicide at the jail after his arrest but eventually told police "that he had taken some gasoline in a yellow pop can and driven to the house, where he started a fire on the front porch. He stated he did not know anyone was in the house and did not check to see whether there was or not. He wanted the grandson to feel some pain because he said that the grandson got away with everything."

Ferrarese was caught after witnesses reported seeing a man lurking about, taking photos and video. Police found his image, shown leaning against garbage cans, on a cruiser camera, the complaint says.

When the fire broke out, the Osborns, who live in Lakeville, were staying at his daughter's house while she and her husband took Sanders to Johns Hopkins University, which he attends on a four-year lacrosse scholarship.

"I'm sure there was some jealousy," Osborn said of the suspect.

His granddaughter and three other teens who also are high school track captains had also been staying in the house that night, he said.

The fire was raging by the time firefighters arrived. They found evidence that gasoline had been used to fuel the fire, the complaint says.

"This incident easily could have involved multiple deaths," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said.

Wednesday, a woman who answered the phone at Ferrarese's home declined to comment.

Police had worked quickly to make an arrest. A witness at the scene had suggested that police talk with Corey Smith, who also had a dispute with the grandson.

Police went to the nearby home of Smith, who was on his way home from work. Smith's father told them that Ferrarese had a grudge "because he felt the grandson got away with things and had things coming to him."

Smith's father also told them that Ferrarese had threatened to go and burn down the house where Sanders lived with his mother and stepfather. He said that Ferrarese had gotten paper from the garage or inside of Smith's house, along with some gasoline.

Ferrarese had left that home about 1 a.m., about 20 minutes before the fire. He then called Corey Smith and told him that he had done it or taken care of the grandson or something similar, according to the complaint.