A 24-year-old man has been arrested for arson in connection with a large fire at a North Seattle motel earlier this month that left two people dead and four others injured, police said. Some of the victims suffered extensive burns and some jumped from third-floor windows to escape the flames.
Investigators later determined that the July 13 fire at the Hillside Motel in the 2400 block of Aurora Avenue North had been deliberately set. Six victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center immediately after the fire, and four of them were listed in critical condition.
On July 17, one of the victims, a 32-year-old woman, died from her injuries and the arson investigation was then turned over to the homicide unit. On July 21, a 24-year-old man died from his injuries. The King County Medical Examiner ruled both deaths as homicides.