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Testimony ends in trial over burned concert hall

NASHVILLE, Ind. — Testimony has concluded in the trial of the former manager of a southern Indiana concert hall on charges he set the fire that destroyed it.

Closing arguments are expected Friday on the arson charges against 78-year-old James Bowyer of Morgantown for the September 2009 fire at the Little Nashville Opry.

The Herald-Times reports the only defense witness testified only one car was left in the parking lot when he left the night of the fire after helping the house band load up equipment and didn’t see Bowyer’s pickup truck.

Prosecutors say Bowyer set the fire in hopes of collecting $3 million in insurance money because he was heavily in debt from casino gambling losses.

The defense says Bowyer left before the fire started and wasn’t listed on the insurance.

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