Serial Arsonist Faces Death Penalty for Deadly Fire in Hollywood, CA

The mysterious arson fires in a Hollywood neighborhood started small.

Burning bus benches and a mattress near homes and vehicles. One inside an elevator vestibule and another in a parking garage.

Then on Feb. 4, flames engulfed the Vista Del Mar Avenue home of Maria "Chelo" Vazquez, 76, who was recovering from a hip surgery following a bad fall. Her sister, Yolanda "Yola" Honda, 82, was staying at the house and helping her with the recovery. It was the middle of the night. The women died.

Now, authorities allege that that fire and 13 others in the area were started by Jovan Duverne, 39. Two criminal complaints filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors outline what authorities said was an arson spree that ended with the killings of the women.

The attack rocked the neighborhood as friends and family mourn the death of the sisters. Officials have not issued a motive for the fires. Records show Duverne has a previous conviction for arson in 2015, when he set fire to city property less than two miles away from Vaqzuez's home. He was sentenced to a year of mental health counseling and jail time as a result. More recently, he was charged in January with vandalism and in separate cases in 2024 with threatening somebody with a weapon and misrepresenting his identity to an officer. His current attorney declined to comment.

Vazquez died from burns and smoke inhalation, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined. Fire officials said she died at the scene. Honda died four days later from complications tied to her burns and breathing in smoke. Both deaths were ruled homicides.

A crowdfunding page set up to cover funeral and memorial expenses, the search for Vazquez's dog Coco, medical and other costs offered some heartbreaking details.

"As flames engulfed the home, Chelo was briefly seen on the porch," the GoFundMe page said. "Her final words to a neighbor were a testament to her heart: 'I need to go back and get my sister.' Neither emerged from the house."

Forty-three firefighters knocked down the fire in just under 20 minutes, with firefighters pulling both women out of the home in the process, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Hours later, Duverne was arrested less than a mile away near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and North Wilton Avenue. When he was booked, it wasn't for the alleged arson on Vista Del Mar Avenue, records show, but for a rash of previous fires where authorities say he matched the suspect's description.

Duverne is now charged with two counts of murder and 16 counts of arson across two separate criminal cases.

According to prosecutors, Duverne's arson spree started on Jan. 26, nine days before the deadly fire.

One of the first was at an apartment building on North Western Avenue, when Duverne allegedly set fire to a mattress leaning against a light pole in the street, damaging both the pole and a car parked next to it, LAFD arson investigator Afara Lalaind said at Duverne's Feb. 25 preliminary hearing. Then, Duverne allegedly set a fire in an enclosed trash chute landing room, with video showing flames emanating from the trash room. He also set fire to a bag of clothes that a man had set in a parking space the previous night to give to his family.

Soon after, Duverne tried to set fire to an emergency light in an elevator vestibule, Lalaind added.

Where Duverne went to after the fires was not immediately clear. But on Feb. 4, an LAPD officer recognized Duverne by the white hat he was wearing — it appeared to match the hat worn by the apartment building arson suspect.

While Duverne was being held in custody, authorities apparently linked him to the fire that killed Vazquez and Honda and filed a second criminal case against him that included two murder and 11 arson charges and removed his bail.

He has pleaded not guilty to the Jan. 27 fires but has not yet entered a plea for the murder and arson charges filed on March 11. He's due back in court April 8. If convicted on all counts, he's eligible for life without parole or the death penalty.

"When someone sets fires that endanger lives and destroy a community's sense of safety, my office will pursue the most serious charges available and seek justice for the victims," Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a media statement.

On a recent morning, birds chirped and hopped from tree to tree under a clear blue morning sky as a man in a respirator and protective earmuffs worked on what remained of Vazquez's property, which was fenced off from the street. The man declined to comment, as did several neighbors when reached by The Times.

The home's facade was charred and disfigured, with gaping holes revealing the blackened interior, warped metal hanging over the windows. Freshly installed plywood partially concealed some of the damage.

According to the GoFundMe page for the family, the 115-year-old house built on a sloping hill a five minutes' walk from the Hollywood Walk of Fame was the multi-generational anchor of the extended family's presence in Southern California after they moved from Mexico — their "realization of the American dream for a young family that migrated from Mexico decades ago."

"It was a central and safe place for everyone to retreat to whenever they need it," the family wrote. "Today, that legacy of love and sacrifice has been reduced to ashes."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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