Graffitied Racial Slurs Found Near Exploded Ohio Home

STERLING, OH — Law enforcement found racial slurs spray painted near an interracial couple's home that was leveled by an explosion this week in Wayne County. Investigators are now looking into the incident as a possible hate crime.

Neither of the homeowners, Angela and Brad Frase, were hurt in the explosion. The couple's home is in Sterling, a small town southwest of Akron. They had lived in their house for 23 years without incident, until the explosion.

The Frase's home may have been targeted before the explosion, according to Wayne County Sheriff Captain Doug Hunter. An electrical fire occurred in July, moving the couple out of the home and into a nearby hotel. The home was vacant for about one month.

Before the explosion, someone broke into the Frase's home and caused some "relatively minor damage," Hunter said. Then, the day before the home was leveled, a contract repair company discovered a smell of natural gas in the home. A stove, inside the house, had one of its burners on, but the pilot light was not lit. So gas filled the home.

The gas company removed the meter to prevent more natural gas from entering the home. The next night a neighbor called 911 and said the home was ablaze.

After the home was leveled, investigators found a swastika and a misspelled anti-Black slur spray painted on a nearby garage. The couple told WOIO they will not rebuild their home in Sterling.

Angela Frase said she was devastated by the explosion, particularly losing mementos of her father and brother. “And they’re gone now,” Frase told the Akron Beacon Journal. “That’s something you can’t replace. It’s gone.”

Hunter said it was uncharacteristic for his county to have racially-motivated crimes. He admitted hate crimes have happened in the area, but said they had only occurred a "handful of times."

Local law enforcement are now working with federal agencies, like the FBI and ATF, to investigate the explosion as a possible hate crime.