A 69-year-old Valparaiso man is facing a murder charge and additional felony counts following a house fire at a group home that left one resident dead, according to court records.
Robert Delano Bone was charged after a fire broke out around 3:05 a.m. on October 31, 2025, at a group home in Valparaiso. Officers responding to the scene found approximately half of the residence fully engulfed in flames, with multiple occupants reporting that people were still trapped inside.
An officer entered the burning home and rescued a woman from the foyer area. After making announcements inside the residence, the officer heard a man yelling for help from another room and dragged him toward the front door. While being rescued, the man reported that another person was still upstairs, but due to the intensity of the fire, the officer was unable to reach that area.
Firefighters later found Billy Bishop unconscious at the top of the stairs. Bishop was airlifted to a Chicago hospital, where he later died. An autopsy determined he died from thermal injuries and related complications.
Investigators determined the residence was a group home housing seven residents, including Bone and Bishop, along with a homeowner and caregiver. Several occupants were hospitalized for treatment following the fire.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the Indiana Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire originated in Bone’s bedroom. The homeowner told investigators she was awakened shortly before 3 a.m. and observed an orange glow coming from Bone’s room. When she entered, she found Bone awake and staring at burning diapers on the floor. She helped Bone out of the room, but the fire spread after the burning diapers ignited nearby curtains.
Bone gave multiple statements to investigators. Initially, he claimed the fire started in the kitchen. Later, he admitted the fire may have been caused by a cigarette. In a subsequent recorded interview, Bone acknowledged that he lit a diaper on fire with a lighter inside his bedroom and stated the fire “got out of hand” within minutes. Investigators noted that attempts to ignite a diaper with a cigarette were unsuccessful.
Bone later told investigators he was not attempting suicide and admitted he was not thinking clearly at the time of the incident.
Bone was lodged in the Porter County Jail on January 9, 2026.
Charges filed on December 23, 2025, include:
-
Murder
-
Arson (Level 4 felony)
-
Reckless homicide (Level 5 felony)