Detectives with the Cobb County Police Department are currently treating the July 23 Marietta house fire that killed one teen and injured another as a homicide, 11 Alive News reports.
Police and K-9 units were on the scene immediately after the fire was put out Saturday afternoon, searching the bushes and area surrounding the house for evidence of foul play.
The AJC reports Cobb County fire spokesman Lt. Dan Dupree as saying that the deadly blaze started at approximately 12:30 p.m. at a home located on Shadowridge Drive. Firefighters quickly responded and had the fire under control by 2:30 in the afternoon.
Two people were inside the home at the time of the fire, but only one, an adolescent male, was able to escape. Firefighters found a teenage girl unconscious in a bedroom but were unable to revive her.
The male suffered injuries that are not believed to be serious.
In the aftermath of the fire Saturday, Lt. Dupree said that the fire department would be conducting a “very extensive” investigation, including an arson investigation, which is standard procedure in the event of a death in a fire.
Several neighbors claimed to have witnessed police taking the step-father of the victim into custody Saturday evening. Officer Alicia Chilton confirmed to 11 Alive that police did take a man into custody for questioning and released him that same night, though his identity was not revealed.
The victim and her family lived in the home in question, though they did not own it. The family was renting it from a man in Texas, who claims to not have known the renters in any way.
Cobb County police have not released any further information, citing the inability to do so in an ongoing investigation.
