A mobile home owned by the heirs of a convicted murderer has been reduced to ashes, after a fire tore through the property on Straight Street in Harlem Heights Friday night.
According to the Iona McGregor Fire District, the first alarm came around 6:16 p.m., and crews saw the massive flames consuming the manufactured home along Straight Street.
Firefighters contained flames visible from far down the road. Michael Lee Anderson Sr. lives next door to the mobile home that burned down.
Officials said the Fort Myers Beach Fire District also responded to help extinguish the fire.
"Oh, it was bad. It was bad to where people could see it way in the back," Anderson said. "I just I ain't never seen a like that before in my life."
The Iona-Mcgregor Fire District battalion chief said the mobile home was abandoned, and no one was hurt in the fire.
However, for Anderson, the charred remains hold a painful history.
Anderson recalled a tragic night over a decade ago when the man living there, Madison Mobley, 84, murdered a woman.
"I was right there. I couldn't do anything about it because the person brandished the gun," Anderson said.
According to the Department of Corrections , Mobley was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder.
He died in prison in 2021.
Despite Mobley’s death, Anderson's memories of that traumatic night remain vivid.
"I don't want to go down that road," Anderson said, "I’ll never forget that night."
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Iona-McGregor Fire District battalion chief said the site will be investigated, though finding a specific ignition source may prove impossible.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the murder victim as the suspect's wife. The victim was not Mobley's wife.
