A Philadelphia woman is facing murder and arson charges after police say she intentionally set a house on fire in an attempt to hurt one relative — but another cousin died instead.
Chardae Sapp, 34, was arrested Sept. 13 in connection with the Feb. 4 fire that killed 25-year-old Raymond Bell in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia, according to court records and local reporting.
The fire broke out around 1:38 a.m. in a home on the 5400 block of Regent Street. Bell was rescued from a second-floor bedroom and taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Investigators later determined that the blaze had been deliberately set.
According to the criminal complaint, fire investigators concluded that someone used an open flame to ignite combustible materials inside a second-floor bedroom.
Police say several relatives placed Sapp inside the house shortly before the fire began.
Family members told investigators they tried to reach Bell after noticing smoke but were unable to get to him in time.
The case took an even more disturbing turn when relatives allegedly began telling police what Sapp had said after the fire.
Investigators say Sapp told her father that she had intentionally started the blaze because she wanted to hurt a different cousin whom she believed had been talking badly about her.
That person was apparently not the one who died.
According to court documents cited by WPVI, Sapp later told her sister she “didn’t mean it” when questioned about the fire.
Police also say Sapp eventually admitted her role directly to investigators, allegedly telling an officer that she had set the fire and acknowledging that an innocent person had lost his life.
Sapp now faces murder, arson, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges.
She remains in custody, and the allegations against her have not been proven in court.
One detail in the original report appears to have changed: WPVI’s latest court reporting lists Sapp’s preliminary hearing for Sept. 28, rather than Oct. 14.
The case also illustrates why prosecutors can pursue a murder charge even when the person who died was allegedly not the intended target. In homicide cases, prosecutors can argue that criminal responsibility follows from the intentional dangerous act itself, though the precise legal theory used in Sapp’s prosecution will become clearer as the case moves forward.
