California Man Welcomes New Look at Daughter’s Death

The grandfather of a New York man crushed to death by a car welcomes the interest the homicide case is bringing to the 1991 death of his daughter in a California house fire.

Art Alexander spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, days after his former son-in-law Karl Karlsen was charged with murdering his son in 2008 for insurance money. The case was originally thought to be an accident. But the sheriff’s office learned this year about a life insurance policy on 23-year-old Levi Karlsen taken out days before his death.

Police said this weekend that authorities are now looking into the 1991 blaze in Calaveras County, Calif., that took the life of Christena Karlsen, the defendant’s first wife.

Alexander has said he suspected Karlsen was responsible for his daughter’s death, but kept silent to avoid being cut off from his grandchildren.

“The best thing is, I never thought I would see the day the man would be in jail. So that’s a good feeling,” he said.

Alexander said he didn’t know where things stand in terms of any investigation into the 1991 fire that took his daughter’s life, but he’s expecting New York police to meet with him in California in a week or two. Alexander has said Karlsen ended up with $200,000 in insurance money after the fire and used it to buy the property in upstate New York.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday they are waiting to hear from New York investigators before making decisions related to the 1991 case. Police in New York have not made additional comments about the case this week.

Karl Karlsen is scheduled to appear in court in Seneca Falls on Thursday evening.

Levi Karlsen died in November 2008 while working on a truck in a barn on the family’s property in Romulus, in the Finger Lakes. Karl Karlsen told sheriff’s deputies he had returned from a family event and found the truck had toppled off a jack and trapped his son underneath.