A man has been arrested on murder and other charges in connection to an arson fire that consumed a Deerfield Beach home and left a woman and her dog dead, authorities said.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, 41-year-old Genivaldo Gomes Moreira was arrested Sunday night and is accused of setting the fire that killed Ana Paula Ribeiro De Souza, 54.
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WATCH HEREBroward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighters responded to the scene at Northwest 43rd Street and Northwest 4th Avenue at around 4:30 a.m. Friday and encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from one side of the duplex, Battalion Chief Michael Kane said.
As firefighters battled the flames, they found the victim deceased in a back bedroom, Kane said.
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Officials and family members identified the victim as de Souza, a mother of four.
Daughter Kimberly Silva said she received a hysterical call from a family member Friday morning informing her of the fire.
"I ran to my mother’s address and that’s when I saw flames and fire everywhere," said Silva, who described her mother as devoted to her faith. "Devastated. She didn’t deserve this. Her life was just going to church and coming home being with her children."
Silva added that her mother had a volatile relationship with her ex-boyfriend, who she'd only been dating for six months. She said the boyfriend's whereabouts were unknown.
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"I want justice for my mother because she didn’t deserve to die like that. From the way that they found her, she wasn’t completely burnt. But from the evidence that they saw at the moment, it showed that there was evidence that she was murdered before the fire," Silva said.
The family next to the unit that caught fire was able to escape, and the fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes, Kane said.
But long after fire crews cleared out, the Broward Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continued investigating.
Through investigative methods, homicide detectives identified Gomes Moreira as the suspect, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, officials said.
Officials said he fled the area in a gold 2002 Saturn. Law enforcement officers located him in Manatee County and took him into custody. He is expected to be extradited to Broward County.
Gomes Moreira faces one count of felony murder, as well as arson and cruelty to an animal.
