Suspect charged after man, woman die in northern Alberta house fire
A northern Alberta man is facing criminal charges after two people died in a house fire early Tuesday on the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement south of High Level, Alta.
A 62-year-old man and a woman, 47, were found dead inside a home after High Level RCMP and the local fire department responded to a fire around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, RCMP said in a news release Friday.
The bodies were found after a witness reported that two people were unaccounted for and believed to be still inside the home.
"Based on information provided by the witness, it was determined the fire was suspicious and a suspect was identified," police said in the news release.
Police arrested a 42-year-old man at a nearby home. He was taken by air ambulance for medical treatment.
The case was handed over to the RCMP's major crime unit.
The man, a resident of the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement, has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
He remained in hospital Friday, undergoing medical treatment, but is scheduled to appear Monday in High Level provincial court.
Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement is 710 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
