Crime & Safety
Murder-Suicide House Fire Killed Married Couple: Police
St. Pete police said they responded to the dead couple's domestic quarrels at their house in the past.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A married couple who died from a fire in their St. Pete home on Friday night had a history of domestic quarrels, according to St. Petersburg police, and their deaths are a murder-suicide investigation.
Detectives said Charles Nelson used accelerant to purposely set the house on fire, and Janet Nelson called 9-1-1 for help and couldn't escape the home.
St. Pete Fire and Rescue pulled Charles Nelson and Janet Nelson out of the home, but Charles Nelson was already dead. Janet Nelson died of her injuries at a local hospital on Sunday.
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Officers said they have been called to the home twice in the past for domestic quarrels involving the couple — once in 2014 and again in 2019, but no arrests were ever made.
Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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