Months after two people were killed in a fire at a home in Brownsville, a man accused of intentionally setting the blaze has been arrested on murder charges.
Jorge Marin Calderin, 61, was arrested Monday on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted felony murder and first-degree arson in the fire that happened on Sept. 27, 2024, records showed.
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Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies and fire rescue crews had responded to the fire at the home at 1918 Northwest 53rd Street around 3 a.m.
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Inside the home they found 29-year-old Amaury Aguilera Ramos and 58-year-old Barbara Tamayo Guerrero unresponsive in separate bedrooms.
Both were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition but later died from their injuries.
An autopsy later ruled the victims' cause of death to be "thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion" and classified their manner of death as homicide, an arrest warrant said.
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According to the warrant, three other people who live in the home, including Marin Calderin, were able to escape.
The day of the fire, Marin Calderin spoke with NBC6 in Spanish, blaming the fire on another person.
Marin Calderin told investigators he was asleep in his bedroom when he was woken up by a smoke detector. He said he opened the door to his room and saw two mattresses in the hallway partially obstructing his doorway, the warrant said.
He said his clothing caught fire as he squeezed by the mattresses, which caused him to suffer burns to his back and buttocks, the report said. He also said he burned his hands while attempting to extinguish the fire on his clothes.
But according to the warrant, there was no evidence found in the hallway of burning mattresses, and other circumstances surrounding the fire were found be be unusual.
"Marin Calderin was the only occupant who exited the home fully dressed, with keys, phone, wallet, and religious artifacts in hand," the warrant said.
Arson investigators later determined the fire was "incendiary" with multiple points of origin intentionally lit, and discovered an accelerant was poured over the doors and frames of bedrooms except for Marin Calderin's door, the warrant said.
And Marin Calderin's sweater, which was burned during the fire, later tested positive for traces of gasoline, authorities said.
Marin Calderin was arrested and booked into jail. He appeared in court Tuesday, where he was appointed a public defender and ordered held without bond.
