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Man died of thermal, inhalation injuries in fire

One person is dead and another four are critically injured after a fire broke out in the east side of the valley Monday afternoon.
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LATEST UPDATE: The Clark County coroner said Mario Jimenez died of thermal and inhalation injuries in the November fire. The coroner classified it as a homicide.

THIRD UPDATE: Police now say what was believed to be a deadly house fire is actually a homicide and the blaze was intentionally set, possibly to cover up another crime.

It happened on Monday afternoon on Sherrill Cirle near Sherrill Avenue and Lamb Boulevard.
 
"I saw two people being pulled out of the house," said neighbor David Vandorne. "They were bound, duct-tapped, naked. No clothes on at all."
 
Vandorne ran to help when he realized his neighbor's house was on fire, what he saw shook him to his very core.
 
"It's pretty traumatic, I mean it's a scary thing to see," said Vandorne, visibly shaken. "I mean I dreamt this all night long."
 
Inside the home were the two women, two men and a baby.
 
"She's screaming, saying baby's in the house, baby's in the house," said Vandorne of one of the women who'd been duct-tapped.
 
Police said the baby was rescued by a neighbor.
 
"Thank you for taking her out because anything could have happened to her," said Elizabeth Landeros, the baby's aunt.  "She still gets jumpy because she's still very scared."
 
The women were found bound and badly burned, along with a man who'd been stabbed. Another man was later found dead inside the home but police haven't said how he died.
 
Neighbors say they saw a lot of questionable activity going on in and around the house. They have all kinds of theories as to what led to this gruesome crime but police haven't laid out a motive.
 
"It's a lot of different activity that goes on around here, so a lot of people try to keep to themselves," explained T.J. who lives nearby.
 
Neighbors say they are lucky the fire didn't spread to other homes. They are afraid of what could be next.
 
"The fact that they had no pause or well being for anybody else, they just wanted to do what they wanted to do. they could have put, they could have set a lot of people's homes on fire," said T.J. of the person or people who committed the crime.
 
Police say the baby was treated at the scene. The other three were taken to UMC Trauma. The two women were last listed in critical condition. Police haven't said how the stabbing victim is doing.
 
So far police have no suspects.

SECOND UPDATE: Police said Tuesday that the man who was found dead after a house fire Tuesday appears to be a victim of homicide.

In addition, police said the fire is believed to have been intentionally set. The investigation indicated the victims were restrained inside the residence when the home became engulfed in flames.

When police and fire arrived, they located a man with a stab wound and two women suffering from burn injuries. A neighbor rescued a child inside the residence. The two women are in critical condition at UMC Trauma.

Police said the motive remains unknown and no suspect or suspects have been identified.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

UPDATE: A house fire in the east side of the valley has sparked a homicide investigation.  

Now, there are new questions about what really happened inside the home near Lamb Boulevard and Sherrill Avenue.  

"I have no idea who would do this," said Wendy Rios. 

Rios, a close friend of one of the victims of the house fire, is sharing her heartbreak with Action News.  

"She's burned from head to toe," Rios said.

Angelica Jimenez, 27, was critically injured in the fire, according to Rios.  Action News was told the young mom was home with her father, grandfather, and baby when the flames broke out.  

"Her dad passed away and her grandpa is really sick in the hospital right now," said Rios.

Upon arrival to the scene, firefighters found multiple people burned and bleeding outside.  One of the victims reportedly told first responders the others were bound inside, unable to escape.  

Homicide detectives are trying to determine if foul play was involved.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

ORIGINAL STORY

One person is dead and another four are critically injured after a fire broke out in the east side of the valley Monday afternoon.

The fire was reported around 12:20 p.m. at Lamb Boulevard and Sherrill Avenue, which is between Stewart Avenue and Charleston Boulevard.

As the first engine arrived on scene, they found one person walking down the street bleeding, two people lying on the ground in front of a house next door suffering from critical burns and heavy fire coming out the windows and doors of a one story wood frame/stucco house.
 
The injured person told fire medics that more people were trapped inside the house and were unable to escape.
 
While fighting the fire, crews entered the house and discovered a deceased person in the back of the house. The other three victims were taken to University Medical Center, two with critical burns and one with lacerations and burns.
 
A fourth person was also taken suffering from smoke inhalation. It is believed this fourth person was there attempting to rescue the victims and was overcome by smoke.

The cause is under investigation.

 

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