ST. PETE, Fla. — The St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) said a man was arrested in connection with a fatal fire that killed an 18-year-old and severely injured a woman.
Police said 18-year-old Charles Chambliss III was arrested and charged with felony murder and three counts of attempted felony murder.
WATCH: Arrest made in deadly arson fire that killed 18-year-old in St. Pete: Police
The report said there were four people in the home in the 3000 block of Neptune Drive Southeast when officers allege Chambliss set fire to the car under the carport shortly after 3:30 a.m. on March 22.
Authorities said a 35-year-old woman, her two sons, ages 11 and 17, were inside the home along with her 18-year-old sister.
SPPD said 18-year-old Angelina Anderson died from her injuries, and 35-year-old Ashley Nero remains hospitalized in stable condition with serious burn injuries.
Nero's two sons were not hurt, according to police.
According to the report, Chambliss lives nearby in the Coquina Key neighborhood and knows the family. Police also said the suspect's father, Charles Chambliss Jr., threw away clothing items in a dumpster behind a closed business.
"He knew the clothing items might be relevant to the ongoing arson investigation involving his son," said the report. "He was charged with tampering with physical evidence."
Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev said detectives were conducting surveillance of the suspect's home.
"The father left, went to a local business, went to the dumpster of the business, and discarded clothing that was similar to the distinctive sweatshirt that the suspect was wearing that evening. The father was arrested over the weekend. He was charged with tampering of evidence," said Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev.
Detectives issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, and he turned himself in to the authorities on April 1.
Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev said footage from security cameras helped detectives with the investigation.
"They relied heavily on the video surveillance from the residential cameras and one of the key points was they were able to obtain a video of a suspect approaching the residence, and then shortly leaving afterwards when the fire started. A key component to that video was the subject was wearing dark clothing with a distinctive marking on the back of the sweatshirt he was wearing," said Assistant Chief Kovacsev.
Police are still working to determine a motive.
"He had been at that residence earlier that day. He had been over there numerous times in the past, but the issue is there might have been some type of a disagreement. We don’t know what exactly caused him to go out at 3 a.m. in the morning to go do this and we may never know," said Assistant Chief Kovacsev.
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