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Man Charged With Starting Double-Fatal Fire

Man, Woman Found In Abandoned Building

A man is now facing charges for a fire that killed two homeless people over the weekend.

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Anthony Gilliam, 42, is charged with two counts of aggravated arson and two counts of murder, according to police.

The blaze began at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in a building at 46 East McMillan Street in Clifton Heights.

When the first crews arrived at the house a short time later, they immediately called for additional help, WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Tony Gnau reported.

They found heavy flames on two floors that were spreading quickly to the third floor, Gnau reported.

Firefighters thought the building was empty but used a thermal-imaging camera and found two people -- a man and a woman -- on the second floor.

The female victim, Clara Young, 44, was unconscious when she was taken to University Hospital. She died several hours later, police said.

The male victim was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. His name has not been released.

"Our firefighters did an absolutely tremendous job," Fire District Chief Stephen Phillips said. "Just the fact that they were in that building, fighting the fire, and they were able to find those victims. I can't speak highly enough about what a tremendous job they did."

Witnesses and neighbors said the victims occasionally stayed in the building because they were homeless.

Investigators said they learned during a preliminary investigation that Gilliam was in or near the building when the fire started.

Gilliam was questioned Sunday by police and arson investigators before he was arrested and charged, WLWT reported.

Stay tuned to WLWT Eyewitness News 5 and ChannelCincinnati.com for updates to this story as they become available.


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