Charges upgraded after townhouse fire victim dies
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2024 (456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A 27-year-old man accused of deliberately torching a townhouse while its inhabitants slept inside now faces charges of manslaughter after one of the people critically injured in the blaze died.
The Winnipeg Police Service announced the upgraded charges against Izak Catlen Eldon Sararas in a news release Wednesday, alleging the suspect set fire to the building at 820 Keewatin St. after trying to steal a cigarette from another man at a nearby gas station.
Investigators learned Sararas confronted a man in his 30s at the business, demanding a cigarette before punching him in the face and fleeing at about 3 a.m. on June 26. The victim reported the incident to police and did not require medical attention.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Forensic officers investigate the fire scene at the townhouse on Keewatin Street on June 26.
Police said Sararas walked to the townhouse a half hour later and intentionally burned a couch that was resting against the building.
Nirmaljeet Kaur, 30, and a 29-year-old man “were asleep when their suite became engulfed in flames,” police said.
“They were transported to hospital in critical condition. The male was eventually upgraded to stable condition but sustained life-altering injuries. However, the female remained in critical condition.”
Kaur died of her injuries Sunday. Her family has been notified, the WPS said.
The suspect remained in the area and set three garbage bins ablaze shortly after the townhouse fire, police said.
Officers arrested Sararas on the day of the fire. He was near Health Sciences Centre when police questioned him on an unrelated matter and later identified him as a suspect.
He was turned over to major crimes investigators, who cautioned him that the charges could be upgraded “if the conditions of the victims changed, that is, if they died,” WPS Const. Jason Michalyshyn previously told the Free Press.
Sararas, who remained in custody after his initial arrest, was charged with manslaughter Tuesday. He remains in custody.
He also faces a robbery charge, two counts of arson with disregard for human life and four counts of arson causing damage to property.
Court records show he has no prior convictions in Manitoba.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 3:42 PM CDT: Minor edits