A Pennsylvania man is now facing multiple attempted homicide charges years after a devastating house explosion nearly killed his family and injured his young son.
Authorities say Jacob Rabb has been formally charged in connection with a Pennsylvania house explosion that destroyed his family’s residence in Plum on April 22, 2022. Prosecutors allege the blast was intentionally triggered while his wife and three children were inside the home.
According to court documents cited by WTAE, Rabb is charged with several counts of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated arson, and recklessly endangering other people.
The explosion tore through the home late that night while Rabb, his wife Laura Petty, and their three sons were inside. Despite the scale of the blast, most of the family managed to escape.
Petty and two of the couple’s younger children, then ages 6 and 2, made it out alive. Their oldest son, who was 11 at the time, had been playing video games in the basement when the explosion struck. He reportedly crawled out through a window to escape but suffered severe first-degree burns.
Investigators later uncovered handwritten notes in the kitchen that raised suspicions about the cause of the explosion. One note read, “P.S. I did blow up the house.” Another message reportedly included the line, “If I can’t have her no one will or my kids … ”
Authorities have not publicly clarified when the notes were discovered.
Despite the alarming messages, criminal charges were not filed until nearly four years after the explosion. The delay has not been fully explained by investigators.
In the months following the incident, the relationship between Rabb and Petty deteriorated. The couple separated in December 2022, and Petty sought a protection-from-abuse order in May 2023.
Court records show Rabb allegedly violated that order only weeks later, when he threatened Petty with a knife.
Investigators say forensic evidence suggests Rabb intentionally tampered with the home’s gas line. The affidavit states that he manually disconnected the gas connection to the home’s dryer on three separate occasions, including the day the house exploded.
Police also cited statements from Rabb’s father, who reportedly told investigators that his son admitted responsibility for the blast, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
At the time of the explosion, however, Petty publicly credited Rabb with helping the family escape the burning home.
“I don’t remember anything,” she said. “I don’t remember hearing a blast or feeling the blast or anything. I woke up in bed with the roof collapsed on me. I was super disoriented. If it wasn’t for (Rabb), we wouldn’t have made it out.
The powerful blast destroyed the family’s house and damaged nearby properties, causing thousands of dollars in losses to surrounding homes. The property where the house once stood has remained vacant since the explosion.
Rabb now faces multiple felony charges as prosecutors move forward with the long-awaited case.
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