Josef Federman
Associated Press
VACAVILLE, Calif. A man charged with killing a woman in Northern California was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of setting a fire to cover up the crime that spread and killed two other people, authorities said.
Victor Serriteno, 29, of Vacaville was booked after an eight-month-long criminal investigation, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said.
County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said he will be charged with additional counts of murder and arson and was scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
Serriteno was already jailed without bail after being arrested last year for the death of 32-year-old Priscilla Castro. Her burned body was found on Sept. 2 near Lake Berryessa.
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.
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.
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Victor Serriteno allegedly killed Priscilla Castro and started the Markley Fire.
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Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.Vacaville Police Department
On Aug. 16, 2020, Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old from Vallejo, California, headed to nearby Vacaville for a first date with a man she met on a dating app, according to police.
She was never seen again, Vacaville police said.
Now her date, who was charged with murder, is also accused of setting a wildfire to cover up the crime which ignited a massive blaze that claimed two more lives, officials said.