Serial Arsonist Could Face Death Penalty For Fire That Killed 2 Sisters: LA County DA

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A 39-year-old man is facing murder charges in connection to a house fire that killed two elderly sisters in Hollywood last month, which was part of what prosecutors say was a week-long arson spree across the neighborhood earlier this year.

Jovan Lamar Duverne is charged with two counts of murder and 11 counts of felony arson. He faces several special circumstance allegations, including that he was previously convicted of arson, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Duverne is set to be arraigned April 8. He's being held without bail.

Duverne is accused of setting fires at 10 locations in Hollywood between Jan. 26 and Feb. 4. Prosecutors say he used a handheld torch-style lighter, set fires to trash as he walked between destinations and attempted to enter buildings.

On Feb. 4 at around 2 a.m., prosecutors claim he set a fire to a home at 1760 N. Vista Del Mar Ave., which killed two sisters: Maria Del Consuelo Alarcon-Valdez, 76, and Yolanda Honda, 82.

Duverne was arrested later that day near Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place, prosecutors said.

Before Duverne was publicly identified as the suspect on Wednesday, authorities had said police arrested a suspect in connection to rubbish fires that were set in the Hollywood area the same night.

"The cause of the fire was determined to be arson. Further investigation revealed that multiple additional fires were reported in close proximity in the same early-morning time period, as well as a similar fire in the area reported in late January," Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Scott Harrelson said. "These incidents involved fires set to trash containers located adjacent to residential structures."

• Read more: Serial Arsonist Suspected In LA House Fire That Killed 2 Senior Sisters

In January, a string of dumpster fires in Hollywood and West Hollywood over a single night were being investigated as arson. It's unclear if those incidents are the ones possibly connected to the deadly house fire two weeks later.

The sisters' family members wrote about their loss in a GoFundMe, which they set up to help pay for funeral services and cleanup of their home — which was shared by seven siblings and two generations.

Family members said Vazquez had been recovering from hip surgery after a fall and her older sister had moved in to become her full-time caretaker, according to KTLA.