Thread: Arson investigator: Woman started fatal fire over eviction

Arson investigator: Woman started fatal fire over eviction by sister

By PEGGY O'HARE and DALE LEZON
Copyright 2010 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 22, 2011, 2:31PM

A woman has been accused of setting a 3-alarm fire that left an 11-year-old boy dead and injured several others at a southeast Houston apartment complex last weekend.

Rosalidia Chirinos Romero, 40, was arrested at 11:45 p.m. Monday on a charge of arson causing bodily injury or death. She was arrested immediately after she confessed to setting the fire at the Pebble Walk Apartments at 8500 Broadway near Rockhill shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, said Houston Fire Department senior arson investigator Ruben Hernandez. She remains in jail today with her bond set at $250,000.

The child, Jorge Gallan, was discovered dead in an apartment where he lived, which is directly upstairs from the first-floor apartment where Romero had been staying as a guest, Hernandez said. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences will perform an autopsy to determine how the boy died.

Romero had been staying for about a month at the downstairs apartment leased by her sister, Hernandez said. She became upset early Saturday when her sister and the sister’s estranged husband decided Romero had been staying at the apartment too long and needed to leave, Hernandez said.

Romero went to sleep on the couch and heard her sister and her sister’s husband arguing in the bedroom about her staying there just before the fire erupted, Hernandez said.

"She admitted to us that she set the fire — she was fed up with how she was being treated," Hernandez said.

Investigators said Romero walked outside through a sliding glass door and opened an exterior closet door on the apartment’s patio. She is accused of using a cigarette lighter to torch a bag of clothing inside the closet, Hernandez said. Romero then went back to the couch and reclined on it as if she was sleeping and acted surprised by the fire, Hernandez said.

The fire spread from the first-floor apartment’s patio to the apartment unit directly upstairs, where the 11-year-old child who was killed lived with his father and younger brother. The 11-year-old boy died, and his father suffered burns and cuts to his hands from breaking a window while trying to get the children to safety, Hernandez said. The victim’s 9-year-old brother also was hurt when his father tossed him outside through the broken window to neighbors standing on the ground below, Hernandez said.

The fire also spread to the attic of the 37-year-old apartment building. Several firefighters also were hurt battling the blaze, Hernandez said.

Romero escaped the blaze. Her sister and brother-in-law and their four children also escaped. But the fire destroyed 20 apartment units, two of which were vacant. The 18 families left homeless by the fire were relocated to other apartment units with the help of the American Red Cross.

Romero showed a slight amount of remorse about the boy’s death, Hernandez said. He said her eyes became watery with tears when she said she didn’t intend for a child to die.

"She told us she felt sorry about it," Hernandez said.

About 130 firefighters battled the blaze.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 40625.html

Its being reported this woman has an ICE HOLD on her

another upstanding illegal immgrant who's only here to "work" and who obeys all the rules ....

or maybe she thought arson and murder didn't apply to her ...

This is getting to be a habit with them. An illegal in N.J. started a fire cause he got thrown out of a party.

Arrest in Arson Fire that Killed 11-Yr-Old Child
Updated: Wednesday, 23 Feb 2011, 12:17 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011, 7:49 PM CST

JOHN PERERA
Web Producer

HOUSTON - The Houston Fire Department’s Arson Division has arrested a woman in connection an apartment fire that killed an 11-year-old child in southeast Houston.

Rosalidia Romero Chirinos, 40, is charged with Arson Causing Bodily Injury.

Jorge Gallan was found dead following a three-alarm fire in the 8500 block of Broadway on Feb. 19, according to a HFD press release.

Arson investigators said the fire may have stemmed from a family argument.

Jorge’s father suffered injuries in his attempt to carry out Jorge and his 9-year-old brother from the second-story apartment unit in the complex.

Two firefighters received minor injuries battling the blaze.

In all, about half a dozen units were heavily damaged, according to the release. Several other smoke units received smoke damage.

If Chirinos is convicted, she could face 5 to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

There is video at the link where it is stated there is an ICE hold on her.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/lo ... -old-child

This pic is from the original link:


Rosalidia Chirinos Romero, 40, charged with arson-bodily injury in the 339th State District Court.

Hopefully, Texas has the felony murder rule and this dirt bag gets the death penalty.

She didn't like how her family treated her so started a fire? She could have left any time and stopped freeloading!

Yet she desides its best to start a fire and murder through stupidity a child. Such blatant hatred and disrespect for the law and others and murder in my book. If was up to me I'd have her on the fast track to death row. If someones heinous criminal actions leads to the death of another needle in the arm is a kind way of putting it.

Originally Posted by ReformUSA2012

She didn't like how her family treated her so started a fire? She could have left any time and stopped freeloading!

Yet she desides its best to start a fire and murder through stupidity a child. Such blatant hatred and disrespect for the law and others and murder in my book. If was up to me I'd have her on the fast track to death row. If someones heinous criminal actions leads to the death of another needle in the arm is a kind way of putting it.

We are so lucky the Family Values scurry across our National Borders along with the ILLEGALS or at least that's the story of our past President and it seems the current President agrees. After all she is most likely someone's "Auntie".