In a tragic incident in Pennsylvania, authorities report that a man allegedly set fire to a home after facing rejection from a woman living there, resulting in the death of a decorated Army veteran and leaving two others seriously injured.
According to Lewiston Police Department, Robert Zimmerman, aged 40, was taken into custody following the deadly blaze that engulfed a house in Lewiston late Wednesday night, around 11:55 p.m.
Police reports and multiple witness accounts indicate that Zimmerman had visited the residence, which accommodated several subletters, specifically to declare his feelings for a woman residing in the attic.
Witnesses stated that upon being turned down by the woman, Zimmerman allegedly became enraged and started igniting various items on the first floor of the building, as detailed in a police statement.
Emergency crews arrived swiftly at the scene, encountering frantic residents who informed them of the deliberate nature of the fire and alerted them to others still trapped inside.
Among those unable to escape was 44-year-old Brandy Phillippe, who tragically could not make it out of the burning structure and was later pronounced dead by the Mifflin County Coroner’s Office.
A man in the home jumped from the second floor to escape the growing fire and suffered significant facial injuries. He was flown to a trauma center for internal burns in his throat, police added.
Firefighters also rushed to help a woman hanging out a second-floor window, but she refused to jump despite the thick smoke and flames shooting from the property.
Police believe she passed out from the smoke and fell onto a concrete sidewalk below, sustaining “significant injuries,” and was flown to a trauma center.
Zimmerman was allegedly spotted admitting to starting the deadly inferno and seen standing in a nearby alley to watch as the residence erupted in flames. Surveillance images later corroborated witnesses’ statements, police said.
The firebug was located and taken into custody on an outstanding warrant, with cops noting he “smelled like “ash and smoke.”
After Zimmerman was arrested, he declared he had ingested fentanyl and began showing signs of an opioid overdose.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment and later brought back to police custody for questioning — where he made “several incriminating statements,” according to cops.
When police told Zimmerman someone died in the fire, he displayed a “strong emotional response,” police wrote in a statement.
It isn’t immediately clear whether Phillippe was the woman who initially rejected his advances, but the coroner’s office announced they are investigating her death as a homicide.
Phillippe was a “woman of many talents” and a “proud” US Army veteran who specialized in Patriot missiles during her service, according to her obituary.
She also had a background in culinary arts and attended flight attendant school. Later in her life, she worked as a professional truck driver.
“She had a passion for cats and loved many over the years,” Phillippe’s obituary said.
Zimmerman was taken into custody and booked into the Mifflin County Correctional Facility on an outstanding warrant.
Charges are expected to be filed against him in connection with Phillippe’s death, arson, and the injuries caused by the fire, police said.
