DA: Vacaville man set deadly fire to cover up woman s killing
Homicide suspect accused of starting wildfire in attempted cover-up of killing
A 29-year-old Vacaville man has been charged with killing a woman and setting a fire to cover up the crime. KTVU s Henry Lee reports on the wildfire that was sparked, which killed two other people, and the recent arrest.
VACAVILLE, Calif. - Harrowing Vacaville police body-camera video from August showed officers frantically evacuating residents from the fast-moving Markley Fire.
Investigators say Victor Serriteno started the fire to cover up his killing of Priscilla Castro, a woman he had met onlin for a date.
It was a first date out of a horror movie.
Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old from Vallejo, was headed to Vacaville on a Wednesday evening in August to meet Victor Serriteno, a 28-year-old she d met through an online dating app.
But instead of romance, the interlude ended in multiple deaths and hundreds of thousands of fire-scorched acres, prosecutors say.
The suspect is accused of starting the Markley Fire in Vacaville last August that merged with fires in five other counties, including Napa, to become the LNU Lightning Complex.Â
The person behind all the crimes, authorities say, is Serriteno, whom Solano County sheriff s deputies arrested again Wednesday on suspicion of arson and murder in connection with the Markley fire, which killed two people and merged into last year s devastating LNU Lightning Complex fire. Serriteno was already in the county jail after authorities alleged he killed Castro.
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It was a first date out of a horror movie, authorities say.
Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old from Vallejo, was headed to Vacaville on a Wednesday evening in August to meet Victor Serriteno, a 28-year-old she’d met through an online dating app.
But instead of romance, the interlude ended in multiple deaths and hundreds of thousands of fire-scorched acres, prosecutors say.
The person behind all the crimes, authorities say, is Serriteno, whom Solano County sheriff’s deputies arrested again Wednesday on suspicion of arson and murder in connection with the Markley fire, which killed two people and merged into last year’s devastating LNU Lightning Complex fire. Serriteno was already in the county jail after authorities alleged he killed Castro.
Deadly California Wildfire Was Ignited To Cover Up A Murder, Sheriff Says
A Vacaville man will be charged with felony arson and two additional murder charges, authorities announced.
A Northern California blaze in 2020 that became part of one of the biggest and deadliest wildfires in state history was deliberately set to cover up the murder of a woman, officials have revealed. Now the suspect in that killing is also facing charges in the deaths of two fire victims.
Victor Serriteno, 29, of Vacaville, has been in prison awaiting trial in the death of 32-year-old Priscilla Castro, who vanished while on a date with him in August 2020. Her burned body was found the following month near Lake Berryessa in Solano County, about 60 miles west of Sacramento.