3 dead, including child, after suspicious house fire in Los Angeles area
Three people, including a child, have died after a suspicious house fire in Montebello, California, according to police. Investigators believe the fire was connected to domestic violence, and the adult male who died is believed to have been the suspect.
The fire was reported at about 4:34 a.m. Thursday in the 100 block of South 5th Street in Montebello, a city in the Los Angeles area. Officers arrived to find a man and a woman with severe burns outside a home that was fully engulfed in flames.
“When our officers arrived on scene, they found one male that appeared to have burn injuries and also a female that had burn injuries,” Montebello Police Chief Luis Lopez said. “They immediately requested paramedics and got them assistance.”
Lopez said officers then learned that another person was possibly inside the house, but the fire had already spread through the home. Firefighters later found a deceased minor inside.
The man and woman were taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Both died from their injuries later in the afternoon, Lopez said.
“At this time, we believe that the male involved in this case is a suspect,” Lopez said. “This does appear to be a domestic violence-related incident.”
Police have not released the identities of the man, woman or child, pending confirmation by the coroner’s office and notification of relatives. Lopez said investigators believe the child was related to one of the adults.
The man and woman were known to each other, based on interviews with neighbors and witnesses, Lopez said. He said the woman was believed to have lived at the home, but police had not confirmed whether the man lived there.
The woman was found closer to the house, while the man was found farther away, Lopez said.
Montebello police detectives and arson investigators from the Montebello Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire, the possible motive and what happened before it started.
Police said there were no outstanding suspects and no danger to the community. The Red Cross was called to assist people displaced by the fire.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
