LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A man, woman and a teenage boy are facing charges in connection with a deadly fire in Lowell that claimed the life of a 77-year-old man, officials said.
Authorities say Julian Boykins, 20, and Alexander Gaye, 16, intentionally lit a massive fire that consumed an apartment building and left Em Chak dead. Three more residents, two firefighters and one police officer were injured, according to a release issued by Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.
The fire then spread to the two buildings next door.
“Over 50 residents of that apartment, including children, had been displaced and literally left that building with the clothes on their back,” Ryan said at a press conference.
Early in the morning on February 10, officials said Boykins and Gaye were both caught on surveillance camera entering the back of the apartment building, using a car cigarette lighter to ignite some combustibles in a nearby trash can and then fleeing the scene.
The location of the fire actually prevented residents from being able to get out of the building.
“This underscores once again that using fire as a weapon is particularly dangerous given the unpredictability of what will happen,” Ryan said.
Seven days later, police located surveillance video of the sedan the two allegedly used to get away at a Merrimack Street gas station in Lowell and took Boykins into custody for an unrelated incident.
While Boykins was in custody, he was in communication with his 19-year-old girlfriend, Tanya Karadanis and he allegedly told her to remove the SIM card from his phone and destroy it in an attempt to get rid of the evidence.
Boykins and Karadanis were arrested at a Pawtucket Street residence on Thursday.
She was arraigned in Lowell District Court on evidence tampering and conspiracy charges and released on $5,000 bail.
He will be arraigned on Friday on murder, arson of a dwelling, three counts of armed assault to murder, injury to a firefighter and intimidation of a witness charges.
“Today is not a good day for all involved,” said Lowell Police Superintendent Kelly Richardson. “But, it is my hope that the family of the victim will have some sense of justice with these arrests being made.”
Authorities are still looking for Gaye who will be facing similar charges.
He is described as a 5 foot, 8 inch tall Black man with a thin build and is said to be in the greater Lowell area.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family of 77-year-old Em Chak.
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