Chicago crime: Lontray Clark charged with murder, arson after 4 killed in West Side apartment fire on North Avenue, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) — A suspect is facing multiple charges after four people were killed in a West Side apartment fire last month.

Lontray Clark faces charges of murder and arson related to a fatal fire he is suspected of starting on June 26 on West North Avenue, according to Chicago police.

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Four bodies were found in the Austin neighborhood apartment building following the blaze. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, alongside state fire marshals, employed heavy machinery and a search dog at the destroyed site.

Clark was arrested on Wednesday in Springfield, Illinois, police said. His charges include multiple felony counts of murder and aggravated arson.

The victims killed in the fire were a 5-year-old boy, a 27-year-old woman, a 32-year-old woman and a 76-year-old man, officials said.

“We’re grateful, but, sadly, it doesn’t bring back the lives lost due to this needless crime,” expressed Rev. George Smith Jr., who is related to three victims, after hearing about the charges filed.

Last month, family members identified some of the victims to ABC7, including a woman named Destiny Henry along with Regina Henry, 32 and her 5-year-old son, Jayceon.

The man killed was identified by community members as Brad Cummings. He was the editor of The Austin Voice, founded in 1985.

Six other people were rescued from the building, and some of them were hospitalized.

The Red Cross said the massive blaze displaced over two dozen people.

Clark is scheduled to appear in court Saturday.

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