Roman Almatitla, 38, has been accused of starting a fire at a three-storey building in Flushing, New York, which left four people dead including a three-year-old girl
A man is alleged to have drunk a beer and watched after setting fire to a New York building which left four people dead.
Roman Almatitla, 38, has been charged with arson, murder, and assault all in connection to the fire that took place at a three-storey building in Flushing last month.
Three adults and a three-year-old girl died in the tragedy where others had to jump out of windows to escape the blaze, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
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Chengri Cui, 49, Shin Chie Ming, 61, and the young girl, were found dead at the scene from smoke inhalation. Hong Zhao, 64, leapt from a window and sustained brain trauma and numerous broken bones, before later being pronounced dead at the hospital.
Several other people were injured, including two firefighters who had to be rescued from the building after a staircase collapsed.
Almatitla admitted he had no particular reason to attend the building that day, reportedly said prosecutors, and he is alleged to have started the fire out of anger at losing his job that day.
He entered the building a number of times before heading to a petrol station across the street where he bought a beer, stole another and asked the cashier behind the register to borrow a lighter, said the District Attorney.
CCTV footage showed him at the petrol station and then he returned to the building where he followed a woman inside as she opened the door to go in.
It is then that he allegedly lit a piece of paper with matches before dropping into a trash can near the exit for the second and third floors.
While the first floor of the building is occupied by a commercial space, the second and third are all residential apartments. A witness, speaking to WNBC, said they saw two people jump from the second floor, with one woman shouting: “My baby, my baby.”
Since 2020, the property has been issued with more than 50 violations by the Department of Buildings. Inspectors also found an illegal gambling business operating on the first floor in 2023, during which a $23,000 fine was issued to the organizers.
The latest violation, a failure to maintain, came in January this year after investigators unearthed extension cables running from the first to third floors.

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