ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO, CANADA -- A 19-year-old St. Catharines man was charged with first-degree murder and arson Sunday after the body of a woman was found Saturday afternoon in a basement apartment where firefighters extinguished a blaze.
Cassell Farnsworth was being held in custody pending a bail hearing scheduled for today in the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse, St. Catharines.
Farnsworth was accused of killing Madeline Hood, 19, of St. Catharines.
St. Catharines firefighters responded to a residential fire on East Hampton Road shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.
The fire was put out, and Hood's body was found in the basement. Police determined shortly after that she was the victim of a homicide.
Niagara Regional Police Service said Farnsworth and Hood knew each other.
Copyright 2012 - The Buffalo News, N.Y.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
