A man who was breaking up with his girlfriend was charged Friday with second-degree arson for allegedly setting fire Jan. 14 to her apartment unit in Lynnwood.
Abelardo Martin Ferreira, 48, of Lynnwood is expected to appear in Snohomish County Superior Court on Monday.
Witnesses told Lynnwood detectives that Ferreira recently broke up with a woman who lived at the apartment and was in the process of moving out. Witnesses said Ferreira was not taking the breakup well, and the ex-girlfriend got a domestic violence protection order against him, deputy prosecutor Bridget Casey said.
Ferreira arrived Jan. 14 to remove some of his belongings, and a roommate told police she heard a loud explosion from her roommate’s room about 20 minutes after he had left.
Investigators said the room had been doused with gasoline, and the fumes were ignited either by a heating vent or by a candle set on papers that burned down, Casey said.
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