Suspect Confesses to Brooklyn Arson, Heard Demonic Voices

WCBS-TV, The suspected arsonist fleeing the scene

[UPDATE BELOW] Police are questioning a resident of the Bensonhurst building that burned this weekend killing five Guatemalan immigrants, the AP reports. So far it's unclear whether the suspect in custody is the same captured in video footage released earlier today. Wearing dark clothes, he's shown arriving at the overcrowded building around 2 a.m. with a bag, and rushing from its door at 2:29 a.m. without the bag. Just one minute later someone reported the fire, which killed four men and the mother who tossed her two children from a third-story window.

Considering the surveillance footage and how the building ignited, the NYPD is investigating the fire, one of the most deadly in the borough's recent history, as a case of arson. The force didn't specify whether the man caught on tape was the culprit, but an official did say the fire was motivated by a "personal vendetta." Yesterday media speculated the arsonist may have been a spurned lover who was owed money by one of the apartment's tenants.

The Post says police are having difficulty getting the building's residents to come forward as witnesses, although they've promised that legal status won't come into question. In 2008 there were 12,000 Guatemalans living in Brooklyn (although it's hard to get an accurate count since many live quietly, hiding from the law), reported the NY Times. “They come here seeking a better life for their families in Guatemala,” said Maria Luz de Zyriek, an official at the Guatemalan consulate . “That’s the main reason they’re here.” This week the community scraped money together to send the victims' remains back to their home country, where three sisters mourn the death of their husbands.

The investigation into whether the owner (who was cited for violations in a building next-door) illegally subdivided apartments in the burned building continues. "Someone tried to kill all of us," Marcelino Ajpacaj, 33, who lived on the second floor, told the Daily News. "We don't know who or why."

UPDATE: It seems that the third-floor resident who's now admitted to setting the fire didn't have a personal vendetta. But he was drunk and "prompted by demons." "I'm no monster. I have compassion," yelled the cuffed suspect Daniel Ignacio, who said he used paint thinner to light a roll of toilet paper on fire in a baby carriage. According to the NY Times, he said he heard demonic voices that told him to do it. Then, as the blaze got going, he went upstairs and took a nap, reports the NY Post. Eventually he went outside, and as he saw the building burn to the ground, Ignacio felt pangs of remorse and even helped rescue one of the kids who'd been thrown from the window. He's charged with arson and five counts of murder.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Sabrina Jaszi in News on February 2, 2010 5:07 PM

Comments [rss]

wingedearth

Perhaps the demons in question are actually Mayan gods demanding their Guatemalan human sacrifice. It's Apocalypto 2: The Brooklyn Ordeal

blakewallington

Shit man, when the demons come a callin' you better pick up that phone.

Rick

Back in 2002 This man was arrested for breaking into the empty apartment next door to me. The cops entered the apartment pointing their guns when another neighbor reported a shady figure climbing in trough the window. They found him drunk and sleeping on the floor. When I went to look at him in the cop car to see if I recognized him he tried to kick the window out in my face. I went with my neighbors to the police precinct that night to identify him and they found a drywall blade on him. He was a menace back then but was released and placed back in to society rather than be deported. Way to go justice system.

ilovejapgirls

this is so obvious - suspect panicked when media released a video - decides to come forward to avoid a hunt(since the other immigrants will tell police)but of course, comes up with demon voices in his head. This way if convicted he'll spend time in a mental place - with good food and more safer, than always watching your back in prison.

silver

The insanity defense won't work. You'll be in a Thorazine fog at a psych hospital for the rest of your life. If you are ever "cured" of your mental illness, the judge will send you to PIMTA prison to serve your sentence when your released from the psych hospital.

ilovejapgirls

better than rikers?

The Crunge

I'm illegal jojo. What are you gonna do about it? Want my info so you can come get me? Nazi pig..

Snoopy

I was referring to their stubbornness not to cooperate with the police. It's the old "no snitch" policy and it leads to just more of the same thing happening again.

I don't care if you're from the moon. Don't expect help if you are not going to help your self and those around you.

Ishtar

People who mistook your comment for anything else clearly lack reading comprehension skills.

thefacts

Or are just knee-jerks, quick to judge anyone who disagrees with their vision of poltical correctness.

rasputinsghost

"your sorry asses will be put on the next returning banana boat back to the old country."

nothing racist here, ho-hum

TrippinJoJo

I have my ways Crungy. Oink Oink HAIL HAIL

The Crunge

Hey snoopy I'm latin American and find your comments offensive, stupid idiot..

fauxsella

It's one thing to deport people who enter the country illegally (which I totally support), but a totally different thing to dehumanize them. What happened is a horrible tragedy, and no one deserves to die for wanting a better life.

TrippinJoJo

yea but those people are not americans if they're here ILLEGALLY. IDIOT.

Snoopy

"police are having difficulty getting the building's residents to come forward as witnesses, although they've promised that legal status won't come into question." They have two choices talk to us, or your sorry asses will be put on the next returning banana boat back to the old country.

borgbot

Guatemala is a shithole, they don't want to go back. They'll talk.

Greenpoint60

Guatemala is paradise if you have $. Visit Lake Atalin

Boogie Down

That's Atitlán and, yes, it is nice.

caroaber

Your comments are uncalled for. These residents are crime victims and the police investigation rightfully is prioritizing this.

Get over yourself.