PHOENIX — Two people were killed in a business fire in Phoenix last weekend, and a woman accused of arson is behind bars.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Officials and Phoenix Fire Department were called to investigate a fire at the J&J Sofa Manufacturing business near 59th Avenue and Buckeye Road around 10 p.m. on April 27.
According to police documents, surveillance video from the scene showed two people getting out of a vehicle in front of the business, lighting something on fire, and then throwing it onto the property.
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As arson investigators began to process the scene, they found one person dead inside the building. The next day, a second person was found dead inside the burned building.
Police documents say autopsies determined both of the victims were alive at the time of the fire and their deaths are considered homicides.
One of the victims has been identified by authorities as 42-year-old Catherine Eversole.
The people seen in the surveillance video were also seen at a nearby gas station purchasing a drink in a glass container and $2 worth of gasoline.
Investigators identified one of the suspects as Katisha Susan Smith, 44, who was located and questioned. She reportedly told officials she was “forced to participate” in the incident.
The police documents did not elaborate on the involvement of anyone else during the deadly incident or offer any information on a possible motive.
She was booked into jail on charges of arson and first-degree murder, as well as drug charges.
