April 04--The deaths of two young boys and their aunt in a Pine Hills apartment fire that shocked the Haitian community last month were no accident, officials said today.
The charred remains of Carllans Fils-Aime, 29 -- a faithful church volunteer and University of Central Florida alumna -- and her nephews, Jacque Gustave, 8, and Samuel Gustave, 6, were discovered inside a burned-out, one-bedroom apartment.
No arrests were made after the March 11 blaze. But one person -- a man who somehow escaped the fire -- is now being called a person of interest.
LaRunne Richardson, 37, a longtime family friend who met the victims through church, was hospitalized with minor injuries after the 3 a.m. fire.
Although he was initially cooperative -- authorities say Richardson called 911 and provided a statement after the fire -- deputies may not believe his story.
"He came in and did provide a statement but that statement is suspect," said Sgt. Mike Ruggiero, an Orange County homicide detective. "We are currently still following up on leads and continuing the investigation.
"He's not being charged yet, but he's not being cleared yet," Ruggiero added.
Details about what he told deputies in an effort to clear his name were not released. Since his interview with deputies, Richardson has retained an attorney.
Richardson has a short criminal history. He was arrested in 1998 on aggravated-assault-and-battery charges, then again in 2005 on burglary and grand-theft charges. But prosecutors dropped charges in both of those cases.
Fils-Aime, who worked as an office administrator for FedEx, spent most of her time volunteering at Impact Church, which she joined in 2009.
Deputies said that's where she is believed to have met Richardson in 2010. Public postings on his social-media profile, which has not been updated since before the fire, show the two were friends on Facebook and interacted occasionally.
It's not clear what Richardson, who has only been described as a family friend, was doing at the apartment when the flames broke out at 3 a.m. or how he managed to escape the deadly inferno relatively unscathed.
Although Richardson's involvement is not clear, deputies say one thing is certain: the fire that killed Fils-Aime and her nephews -- Samuel, a kindergartner; and Jacque, a second-grader -- was intentionally set.
The arsonist likely used an accelerant or some other flammable material to spark and then feed the inferno inside the unit at the Misty Oaks apartment complex.
"We have found some indicators that lead us to go the route of an incendiary fire," said Lt. Paul Paterson, Fire Marshal spokesman.
An emotional funeral for the three victims on Saturday drew hundreds of mourners, mostly people of Haitian descent who heard a eulogy delivered in Creole, French and English. Fils-Aime's parents were born in Haiti.
Paterson said authorities are still analyzing evidence, including burn patterns and photos of the fire that may determine where in the apartment the flames broke out and might provide clues that lead to an arsonist.
These deaths bring the number of confirmed homicides in Orange County this year to 26 and make the small family one of two sets of triple-homicide victims in 2014.
Days after the Misty Oaks blaze, three homeless people were found dead inside a shack in woods off Curry Ford Road and Excalibur Drive.
Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities at Crimeline at 407423-8447 or the arson tip line at 877-662-7766.
[email protected] or 407-420-5447; [email protected] or 407-420-5620
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