Jacob Rabb, 41, was arrested this week after he allegedly confessed to causing the massive blast at the home in Plum, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 2022

He allegedly, admitted that his intention was “to kill himself, his ex-girlfriend, and his children”, who were all at home that night

His then-girlfriend, Laura Petty, initially thought he was a hero who’d saved them and their kids, ages 2, 6 and 11, from their “worst nightmare

“If it wasn’t for Jake, we wouldn’t have made it out.” Petty told cops at the time

A year ear later Petty filed for an order of protection on the basis of domestic violence

She allegedly, then found a handwritten note in her kitchen cabinets that said, “If I can’t have her no one will or my kids see you all in hell”

“P.S. I blew up the house,” he also wrote on a note, according to the affidavit

Jacob Rabb, 41, was arrested on Monday March 9, and charged with 25 offenses, including attempted homicide and arson and held without bail

Jacob Rabb [photo], police allege, admitted to blowing up his house in Plum, Pennsylvania, four years ago, while his girlfriend and their three boys were inside, with the intention of committing murder-suicide

Jacob Rabb, of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on Monday March 9, was charged with 25 offenses, including attempted homicide and arson and held without bail after a judge deemed the father-of-three a threat to the “victim, witness or the community.”
Driven by jealousy, the father of three sons allegedly, by his own admission, blew up his house four years ago while his girlfriend and their children were inside, in a failed murder-suicide plot – with the expectation that he would see all of them in “hell,” according to police.
Rabb, 41, was arrested this week after he allegedly confessed to causing the massive blast at the home in Plum, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 2022, “to kill himself, his ex-girlfriend, and his children,” according to the probable cause affidavit written by police.
His then-girlfriend, Laura Petty, told police they were sleeping when their bedroom ceiling suddenly collapsed on them.
Initially she thought Rabb was a hero who’d saved them and their kids, ages 2, 6 and 11, from their “worst nightmare.”
Petty told police, “If it wasn’t for Jake, we wouldn’t have made it out.”
Moving forward a year later, after she filed for an order of protection, she allegedly found a chilling handwritten note in her kitchen cabinets that said, “If I can’t have her no one will or my kids see you all in hell.”
“P.S. I blew up the house,” he also wrote on a note, according to the affidavit.

The home in Plum, Pa., exploded from a gas leak on the night of April 22, 2022. Investigation by fire marshals ruled it a case of arson. The explosion was caused by “natural gas vapors intentionally released through manual manipulation of a gas line” they concluded

Rabb later broke into his ex’s house on June 10, 2023, more than a year after the blast, and allegedly held a knife to her throat while threatening to kill her.
“Let’s play a little game,” he said menacingly before slicing his arm and threatening to provoke police to shoot him, according to the police affidavit. 
When he was arrested the next day, Rabb admitted to cops that during the recent break-in he “disconnected the gas valve” from the dryer and then turned on the gas, while denying being behind the 2022 explosion.
Following investigation the earlier incident, authorities alleged that Rabb disconnected the gas line to the dryer, allowing gas to flow freely and ultimately causing the April 22, 2022 explosion at the home in Plum.
Still maintaining his innocence in that case, Rabb claimed that he wrote the incriminating note because he was suicidal. However, he had owned up to the blast to at least two other people, including his father, according to the the affidavit.
Court docs state that Rabb’s father told investigators his son told him, “Dad, I blew up the house”.
The supervisor of a sober living home where Rabb stayed in November 2025 also told investigators that Rabb admitted that he had planned to kill himself, his ex and their children, after a last meal at a Buffalo Wild Wings.

The home was razed in the explosion and fire arson, during which one of the children suffered first-degree burns. Some nearby homes were also damaged by the blast

Police found Rabb’s home the night of the explosion engulfed in flames around 11:30 p.m. with the windows blown out and the garage door flung into the street. Two other homes suffered thousands of dollars in damages.
Rabb and Petty told cops they were asleep in bed when the blast happened and the ceiling caved in on them. The couple fled the house safely with their younger sons, 2 and 6. Their oldest son, 11, who was playing video games in the basement, sustained first-degree burns.
After investigation, a deputy fire marshal ruled the explosion was arson stemming from “natural gas vapors intentionally released through manual manipulation of a gas line.”
Arrested Monday on 25 charges, Jacob Rabb is being held at the Allegheny County Prison without bail. He will appear in court for a hearing on March 18.