Inset: Robert Zimmerman (Lewistown Police Department). Background: The residence Zimmerman allegedly set on fire in Lewistown Borough, Pa. (Google Maps).
A man from Pennsylvania finds himself in custody after allegedly setting a deadly house fire, reportedly due to being spurned by a woman, as stated by authorities in the state.
Robert Zimmerman, aged 40, faces imminent criminal charges following his arrest earlier this week. He was detained under an outstanding warrant linked to a lethal arson incident, according to the Lewistown Police Department.
This tragic event unfolded late on Wednesday night at a home situated on Bratton Avenue in Lewistown Borough, a modest town positioned midway between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Emergency services were dispatched to tackle the fire around 11:55 p.m., as per police reports. The house owner was renting out the property to several tenants, including 44-year-old Brandy Phillippe.
Tragically, Phillippe did not survive the inferno, as confirmed by a report from the Lancaster NBC affiliate WGAL.
“The preliminary investigation has revealed that Ms. Phillippe attempted to escape the blazing residence but was unsuccessful,” the Mifflin County Coroner’s Office stated in a press release issued on Friday. “She was declared deceased at the scene.”
As officers arrived at the scene of the crime, several witnesses said the fire was intentional and warned of people still trapped inside.
In the end, two other residents were harmed as a result of the inferno, according to law enforcement.
One man suffered significant injuries to his face after jumping from a second-floor window; he also suffered internal burns to his throat. A woman fell onto the sidewalk after falling from a second-floor window from which she was previously seen hanging, police said.
“I could see orange flames coming out the kitchen window. And they were really high,” a neighbor told WGAL. “I saw, people standing outside the, the door there. And then a few minutes later I heard, someone yell, ‘Jump! Jump!’ The, I guess men were saying for someone to jump there.”
The neighbor also expressed grief for a small community of cats that lived near the house and were killed during the fire.
Witnesses would later tell police they saw Zimmerman at the residence in the moments before the flames broke out. The defendant allegedly had professed his love for a woman who lived in the building, according to Harrisburg-based CBS affiliate WHP.
Investigators believe the defendant grew despondent after being rejected by the woman and began setting fire to several items on the first floor of the residence. Witnesses told police that Zimmerman admitted to starting the inferno – and said that he watched the house burn from a nearby alleyway. Witness statements were corroborated using surveillance footage, according to law enforcement.
The defendant was eventually arrested at a boarding house on East Third Street. Arresting officers said he smelled of ash and smoke. He also showed signs of an overdose and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was cleared hours later, then taken to the police station for questioning.
“Zimmerman claimed that he could not recall any details at the exact time the fire started but was able to make several statements about events immediately before and after the fire started,” the police department said. “Zimmerman was informed that an occupant of the residence died as a result of the fire and he had a strong emotional response to this.”
Police anticipate formal charges will be filed in the case against the defendant soon, according to a press release.
