Bristol Man Charged in Connection with Aug. 17 Cemetery Fire

BRISTOL – New information about an Aug. 17 fire in a building at St. Mary's Cemetery led police to reopen the case and ultimately to charge a Bristol man with felony assault and criminal negligence, state police and the state fire marshal said Wednesday. Sean Killeavy was arraigned in Sixth District Court.

He was charged with one count of Felony Assault and one Count of Battery- Criminal Negligence, also a felony, police said.

The Bristol Police Department and the State Fire Marshal's Division made the arrest, according to the press release.

The charges stem from an Aug. 17 fire in a building at St. Mary's Cemetery. That fire "resulted in one indiividual suffering first and second degree burn injuries," the police said.

The state Fire Marshal investigated along with Bristol police and fire and initially concluded "the fire was accidental due to careless disposal of a match, in an area where gasoline had been spilled."

But new information "indicated that the cause of the fire was not accidental but deliberate and caused by Mr. Killeavy," the state police said.