Deadly 2020 California Wildfire Was Started as Failed Attempt to Cover Up a Murder, Officials Say
The Markley Fire started on Aug. 18 and went on to merge with the much larger Hennesey Fire, which ripped through 317,909 acres.
Reuters
A wildfire in Northern California that killed two people last summer was started intentionally in a failed attempt to cover up a murder, according to state officials who have spent eight months investigating the blaze. The Markley Fire started on Aug. 18 and went on to merge with the much larger Hennesey Fire, which ripped through 317,909 acres. The burned body of Priscilla Castro, 32, was found among the wreckage, as well as the bodies of two other people—Douglas Mai, 82, and Leon Bone, 64—who were found dead in their homes. Suspect Victor Serriteno was arrested in September and charged with murder in Castro’s death, but prosecutors will now file two more murder charges and arson charges in line with the new findings. “Based on an extensive eight-month investigation, we believe Serriteno deliberately set the Markley Fire in an attempt to conceal his crime,” said Sheriff Tom Ferrara.
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