Priscilla Castro.Photo: Vacaville Police Department
A California man already charged with the murder of a woman last August is now likely facing additional charges of arson and murder after the deaths of two men who died in a wildfire he allegedly set to cover up her killing.
“I knew there were ugly people in the world but I never knew they would do something to someone so close to us,” Priscilla’s sister, Jasmine Castro, toldCBS Sacramento.
The additional victims — Douglas Mai, 82, and Leon “James” Bone, 64 — both lived in the path of what became known as the Markley Fire, which merged with other blazes last August to become the LNU Lightning Complex fire, one of the largest in California’s history.
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Castro was reported missing to Oakland police on Aug. 18 after her family had been unable to reach her the previous two days, during which time the fire broke out, Vacaville police said in anews release.
Investigators discovered her abandoned car in Vacaville, and learned that she’d come to Vacaville on the evening of Aug. 16 for a date arranged online with Vacaville resident Victor Serriteno, after which she was not seen or heard from again.
Victor Serriteno, at right.Vacaville Police Dept.
Serriteno, 29, was jailed with no bail on a charge of homicide, and has pleaded not guilty to Castro’s murder.
“Based on the extensive investigation, we believe Serriteno deliberately set the Markley Fire in an attempt to conceal his crime,” the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, reportsNBC Bay Area.
The additional Markley Fire victims, Mai and Bone, both were found dead in their homes in unincorporated Solano County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said at the news conference that Serriteno would be charged with their murders, along with arson, and would be arraigned Friday.
“The fire had devastating impacts on so many people in our community,” Abrams said.
Bone was visually impaired, lived alone, didn’t have a phone, and relied on in-person communication as he walked for miles and waved to everyone who passed, his neighbors toldKCRAafter his death.
“I’ve been going out here since I was a little kid, so he’d always be out on the road walking, big smile, nice wave — really friendly man,” said Nathan Guerrero, who grew up in the area.
Mai was a father of two and former law enforcement officer, “an avid outdoorsman, boater, handyman, full of fun facts with an unsurpassed dry sense of humor,” according tohis obituary. “As an altruistic friend and member of the community, you could always count on Doug if you needed to borrow a tool or just needed a shoulder. He never missed going to the end of the driveway to pick up his paper, returning to a cup of coffee and to work his daily crossword, while the cats walked on his paper and the dog laid at his feet.”
“We really feel for them because we know the pain, we know how they feel to lose the one you love,” said Castro’s sister. “[Serriteno] doesn’t deserve to get away with not one bit of this.”
Castro’s mother, Lisa Phelps Nunez, told CBS Sacramento that her daughter, who dreamed of one day owning her own hair salon, “left us with her beautiful daughter and her smile has left an imprint on our heart, something we will hold dear. We will never forget.”
source: people.com
