Kane County man found guilty of trying to kill ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend by fiddling with his home's gas line

man's hand opens or closes gas valve on gas pipe, closeup
Photo credit Getty Images

A 35-year-old man has been found guilty of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend’s new love interest and the man’s son.

Frank Ryan was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder during a bench trial.

Prosecutors said in January of 2020 he carefully planned the crime. Ryan, they said, drilled a hole in the man’s home in Elburn, and ran a plastic tube inside that was attached to the gas line, while Richard Rittgarn and his son were asleep inside. The older man woke to the sound of hissing and the smell of gas. He found the source and blocked the tube and called 9-1-1.

“When you do what he did, you do it with only one purpose, and that is to blow up the house," Kae County Judge David Kliment told Ryan, according to the Daily Herald. 

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Prosecutors also noted Ryan bought the materials the day before, researched natural gas explosions and gave his FitBit to his father, in an effort to make it appear he was somewhere else.

He’s locked up and awaiting sentencing.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images