A 36-YEAR-OLD man will face murder charges for starting a deadly California forest fire that claimed the lives of five firefighters, US police said. Raymond Oyler was detained on Wednesday in connection with two counts of arson relating to wildfires in June. He was described by police as a "person of interest" in the October 26 blaze that destroyed 54 homes and charred over 16,000 hectares after it erupted in Riverside County, 200 kilometres east of Los Angeles. Yesterday police told a press conference they believed Oyler had started the fires which had killed the firefighters in Esperanza.
Just leave this turd alone in a room with the firefighters' familes and a stock of baseball bats.
"We recommend that the district attorney charge Mr Oyler with the five murders of the United States Forest Service firefighters along with 11 counts of arson," Riverside County assistant sheriff Neil Lingle said today. Four firefighters died at the scene when flames engulfed them as they battled to beat back flames, while the fifth died in hospital on Wednesday after suffering 90 per cent burns on his body. The deaths prompted authorities to offer a $US500,000 ($645,955) reward for the capture of the person responsible for starting the fire in tinder-dry scrub forest.
This is nothing short of premeditated murder. If the death penalty doesn't apply in this case, it should. Especially so, in light of all the prior offenses. This shithead knew what he was doing and did it anyway. Time to "extinguish" this flaming asshole.