Goch (NRW): Man is said to have set fire to kill landlady

Goch (North Rhine-Westphalia) – It’s a quiet evening when a fire suddenly breaks out in an apartment building. Flames blaze, thick smoke billows through the stairwell, residents panic. Rescue workers arrive and take the landlady of the house to a clinic. What initially looks like an accident turns out to be a case for the murder squad the next day. Did a resident (34) want to kill the 70-year-old woman?

On Wednesday around 9:15 p.m., residents reported a fire to the fire department in the house in Goch (North Rhine-Westphalia). When the first emergency services arrived, the flames were already shooting meters high from the stairwell. At this point, the fire had already spread to the roof structure and other parts of the building. One resident was initially considered missing and the situation was highly dramatic.

Firefighters fight against flames

The Feuer spread extremely quickly. Since the emergency services were initially unable to enter the house, they concentrated on fighting the flames from the outside. The fire was only under control after around 1.5 hours. Luckily, the missing resident left the house in time. However, the owner of the house was injured. The 70-year-old was taken to hospital with suspected smoke poisoning. According to the police, there was no danger to life.

House uninhabitable – suspected arson

The damage is enormous. Some parts of the house are in acute danger of collapsing, they said Fire department. The criminal police began investigating the house on Thursday. A frightening suspicion grew: According to initial findings, a 34-year-old resident of the house is said to have set the fire – with the aim of killing his 70-year-old landlady. “The suspect was temporarily arrested,” explains a police spokesman.

Homicide squad investigates

The Krefeld police set up a murder squad together with the Kleve police. The 34-year-old was brought before a judge at the responsible district court on Thursday. He issued an arrest warrant and the man was taken into custody. The charge: attempted manslaughter combined with aggravated arson.