Slay raps eyed as Calif. fire toll hits 36
Prosecutors are eyeing murder charges in the Oakland warehouse fire that killed at least 36 people Friday night, officials said.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said Monday that her office was working with local law-enforcement to determine whether a crime occurred. If so, she said, charges could range from involuntary manslaughter to murder.
“It is not clear right now and is too early to speculate,” O’Malley said, adding that investigators were being “methodical” and “thorough” and leaving “no stone unturned.”
Officials said that 33 of the 36 confirmed victims have been identified, and that authorities were working to notify their families.
A 17-year-old high-school student — the son of a local deputy — was among the victims.
While the death toll was initially expected to climb, officials later said they were “not anticipating any more huge numbers.”
Meanwhile, Sgt. Ray Kelly, spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office, said that some of the victims sent text messages from inside the burning building that said, “I’m going to die,” followed by “I love you,” according to SFgate.com.
“We have found people that have died in each other’s arms, protecting each other, holding each other,” Kelly said.
The converted warehouse, dubbed the “Ghost Ship,” was home to an artists colony called the Satya Yuga Collective, which held events in the building.
The free-spirited couple that illegally ran the artist collective insisted in an interview with “NBC Nightly News” on Monday that they did nothing wrong and are being blamed unfairly.
“We’ve done everything we could possibly afford to do,” Micah Allison said.