A 27-year-old man accused of deliberately torching a townhouse while its inhabitants slept inside now faces charges of manslaughter, after one of the people critically injured in the blaze died.
The Winnipeg Police Service announced the upgraded charges against Izak Catlen Eldon Sararas in a news release Wednesday, alleging the suspect set fire to the building at 820 Keewatin St. after attempting to steal a cigarette from another man at a nearby gas station.
Investigators learned Sararas confronted a man in his 30s at the business, demanding a cigarette before punching him in the face and fleeing around 3 a.m. on June 26. The victim reported the incident to police and did not require medical attention.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Forensic officers investigate the fire scene at the townhouse on Keewatin Street on June 26.
A half hour later, police say Sararas walked to the townhouse and intentionally burned a couch that was resting against the building.
Nirmaljeet Kaur, 30, and a 29-year-old man “were asleep when their suite became engulfed in flames,” police said.
“They were transported to hospital in critical condition. The male was eventually upgraded to stable condition but sustained life-altering injuries, however the female remained in critical condition.”
Kaur died of her injuries on June 30. Her family has been notified, WPS said.
Shortly after the townhouse fire, Sararas remained in the area and set three garbage bins ablaze, police said.
Officers arrested him on the day of the fire. He was near Health Sciences Centre when police questioned him on an unrelated matter and later identified him as a suspect.
He was turned over to major crimes investigators who cautioned him the charges could be upgraded “if the conditions of the victims changed, that is, if they died,” WPS Const. Jason Michalyshyn previously told the Free Press.
Sararas, who remained in custody after his initial arrest, was charged with manslaughter on July 2. He remains in custody.
He also faces a robbery charge, two counts of arson with disregard for human life and four counts of arson causing damage to property.
Court records show he has no prior convictions in Manitoba.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
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