Authorities have arrested a suspect accused of causing a deadly house fire in Monroe County earlier this year, an incident that left three people dead.
According to officials, deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside U.S. Marshals and Indiana State Police, apprehended 28-year-old Braydon Blake in Avon on Friday. He was later booked into the Monroe County Jail on charges of murder and arson.
Investigators believe Blake intentionally set the fire after crashing a vehicle into a home located in the 3800 block of East Anderson Road during the early morning hours of Jan. 18.
Police said the crash occurred around 2:39 a.m., after which Blake allegedly set the residence on fire. The blaze claimed the lives of 74-year-old Mary Blake, 33-year-old Kristine Rowan, and 53-year-old Paula Anderson.
Earlier reporting indicated that the suspect was related to at least one of the victims. Authorities also noted that Mary Blake had been battling brain cancer, while Rowan was bedridden at the time of the fire.
Investigators have been working to determine a possible motive behind the attack. According to previous reports, detectives were examining whether a rape allegation against Braydon Blake could have played a role in the incident.
Law enforcement located Blake later the same day the fire occurred. Officers found him in a wooded area behind the burned home, suffering from severe burn injuries. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for treatment.
Officials said Blake was initially treated at IU Health Bloomington before being transferred to Eskenazi Hospital for further medical care due to the severity of his injuries, the Bloomington Herald-Times reported.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies remained stationed at the hospital for roughly a month to ensure Blake remained secure while receiving treatment.
However, complications arose when hospital staff relocated deputies to an area where they could no longer maintain direct visual monitoring of the suspect.
Authorities said an agreement was later reached with hospital staff regarding Blake’s eventual discharge. According to the sheriff’s office, the hospital agreed to notify deputies once Blake was released so they could take him into custody.
After that arrangement was made, deputies withdrew from the hospital. But officials said the agreement was not followed.
According to the sheriff’s office, Blake was discharged from Eskenazi Hospital on April 1, but law enforcement did not receive notification at the time of his release.
MCSO later stated it “independently discovered Mr. Blake had been released without notification” on April 9. Deputies immediately launched a search operation to locate him.
The search ended the following day when authorities tracked Blake down in Avon and took him into custody.
FOX59/CBS4 has contacted Eskenazi Hospital seeking clarification about the circumstances surrounding Blake’s discharge. Hospital public relations representatives said they are currently gathering additional information regarding the incident.
As of now, Blake’s case has not yet appeared in Indiana’s public court reporting system, and further details about the charges or upcoming legal proceedings have not been released.
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