ST. LOUIS — A woman who died after a Dutchtown house fire on Monday owned a second property that had been intentionally lit on fire two days earlier.
The 66-year-old woman who was killed in a fire on Kingsland Court, owned another house in Lemay, according to court records. Firefighters were called to the Lemay residence on Saturday when a neighbor saw smoke billowing from the basement of the home.
An 88-year-old woman, who was also killed by the Dutchtown fire, was in the Lemay house at the time and was taken to the hospital after inhaling smoke. She told officers she lived in Lemay with her grandson, 31-year-old Ryan Larose, who police believe set that fire.
Police said Larose lit fires at four different points in the house and set kitchen stove burners to the highest heat setting.
Two days later, Larose’s grandmother and the 66-year-old woman were inside the Dutchtown home when someone set it on fire, police said.
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Police haven’t released the names of the victims. They both died at a nearby hospital.
Police didn’t say whether Larose is related to the owner of the homes, or whether the two victims are related to each other.
Larose had also previously lived in the Dutchtown home as well, court records say.
He was arrested on Monday for allegedly lighting the Lemay fire and charged with one count of arson in the first degree and is in jail on a $100,000 bond, according to court records. As of Wednesday morning, no one had been charged in the Dutchtown fire.
The 66-year-old victim owned the Dutchtown home since at least 2011, according to property records, and the Lemay home since 2016.
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