Ex-city man charged with 2004 fire deaths
CAMDEN - A man who survived a deadly house fire in 2004 now faces murder charges in connection with three lives lost in the Cramer Hill blaze.
Jesus Perez-Rivera, 30, is accused of felony murder for the deaths of Luis Silva, 32, his 29-year-old wife, Maria Silva, and their 6-year-old son, Carlos Cruz, authorities said Thursday.
Perez-Rivera, currently a resident of Killeen, Texas, caused the deaths "while engaged in the commission of an arson," according to a criminal complaint.
Six other people, including Perez-Rivera, were injured in the predawn blaze on July 9, 2004. All of the victims were rescued from a two-story row home on the 900 block of North 22nd Street.
The Silvas and their son died after being hospitalized.
The fire was determined to be "incendiary," the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
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Authorities said Perez-Rivera, who moved from Camden to Puerto Rico shortly after the blaze, was identified as a suspect during an investigation.
"In these kinds of cases, we are frequently revisiting the evidence and looking for additional information," said Det. Andy McNeil, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to a Courier-Post account, Luis Silva apparently was fatally injured as he tried to extinguish the fire in a living room. His wife, son and two daughters were rescued from the second floor, while other victims were sleeping in the basement.
A security guard and an employee from a nearby firm, Magnetic Metals, rescued the victims, the account said. A security camera showed them using a fire extinguisher to break down the front door as flames and smoke billowed from the home.
"You could hear the people inside screaming, "Help me, help me!' and the children crying, "Mommy, Mommy!'" said Lucy Malavet, a neighbor.
Perez-Rivera, arrested by police in Killeen, awaits extradition to Camden.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Prosecutor's Det. Frank Simpson at (856) 365-3114 or Camden County Police Det. Shawn Donlon at (856) 757-7420.
Jim Walsh; (856) 486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com