A Pennsylvania man is facing over two dozen criminal charges after authorities said he intentionally blew up his home in 2022 while he and his family were inside.
Jacob Rabb was arrested Monday, March 9, on 25 charges including four counts of criminal attempted homicide, four counts of aggravated arson and three counts of criminal mischief, court records viewed by Us Weekly show.
His arrest comes nearly four years after Rabb’s home in Plum, located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, exploded the evening of April 22, 2022, according to a criminal complaint, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Rabb, his former girlfriend and their three children had been inside during the blast.
Rabb’s court-appointed public defender did not immediately return a request for comment from Us on Wednesday, March 11.
An investigation revealed Rabb, 41, disconnected a natural gas pipe that led into his basement and was connected to a dryer, leading to the explosion, the criminal complaint says, according to the newspaper.
Rabb’s 11-year-old son was in the basement playing video games at the time, according to police, the newspaper reported. The boy was able to flee the home with first-degree burns and survived.
Rabb, his former girlfriend and their two other children also escaped the house, which was decimated in the blaze caused by the blast, the criminal complaint viewed by the newspaper says.
His ex-girlfriend sought a protection order against Rabb more than a year later, according to the filing, CBS News reported. She accused him of abuse and of writing a note saying: “P.S. I did Blow up the House.”
She allegedly discovered the note in a kitchen cabinet.
The woman told police that Rabb ultimately admitted to disconnecting “the gas valve” that was connected to his dryer ahead of the explosion, according to the criminal complaint viewed by CBS News.
Rabb is also accused of admitting to his father that he “blew up the house,” police said, according to the outlet.
Following the incident, Rabb had repeatedly expressed that he wanted to harm himself and was placed in a psychiatric hospital on one occasion, according to the criminal complaint, TribLive reported.
In the aftermath of the explosion, Rabb’s former girlfriend told the outlet that “If it wasn’t for (Rabb), we wouldn’t have made it out.”
“He was the one running around making sure we all got out safe,” she said at the time, TribLive reported. “I was so out of it. It was the worst nightmare.”
Rabb is due in court on March 18 for a preliminary hearing, records show.
