Detroit Man Charged In Fire That Killed 5, Injured 4

DETROIT, MI — A Detroit man accused of setting a fire Wednesday to the apartment building where he lived was arraigned Friday on multiple felony counts in the deaths of five men who lived there and the destruction of the building.

Henry Keith Jackson, 55, was arraigned in 36th District Court on five first-degree felony murder and five first-degree arson charges. Four others were injured in the fire stoked by high winds that topped 60 mph Wednesday.

Authorities say Jackson set the fire at 1:35 p.m. Wednesday in the eight-unit, two-story building at 10521 Whittier St.. Police and fire investigators have said Jackson started the fire following an argument with another tenant. It’s unclear what the argument was about.

“Him and one of the guys got into it,” building owner Irvin Beauford told the Detroit Free Press. “That’s what I know.”

The apartment building was a last stop for disenfranchised men who were “homeless, really,” Beauford told the Free Press. The building had not been registered with the city as a rental property, but passed an inspection in 2013.

Most of the residents were under treatment for substance abuse or mental illness, The Detroit News reported.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office is still working to identify the men who died in the fire. Those injured jumped from second-story windows to escape the inferno, authorities have said. The injured include three men, ages 70, 67 and 56, and a 52-year-old woman.

If convicted of the charges, Jackson faces life in prison.

Photo via Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office