A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 75-year-old woman died in a house fire in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.
Emergency services were called to a property on Yew Tree Walk shortly after 8:00 p.m. BST on Sunday following reports that people were trapped inside a burning house.
Sequence of Events
According to police, firefighters and officers rushed to the scene after receiving reports of the blaze at the terraced property.
When emergency crews arrived, the house was engulfed in fire, prompting an immediate rescue operation.
After extinguishing the flames and searching the property, responders discovered the body of a 75-year-old woman inside the home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following initial inquiries, detectives launched a homicide investigation and arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of murder. He remains in police custody while officers continue their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death and the fire.
Police have not released the identities of either the victim or the suspect, and a post-mortem examination is expected to help determine the exact cause of death.
Investigators are working to establish how the fire started and whether it was deliberately set.
West Yorkshire Police have appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident or has CCTV, dashcam or doorbell camera footage from the area around the time of the fire to contact officers.
The investigation remains ongoing.
