A 50-year-old man is facing homicide charges in the death of a 51-year-old Stanley woman, injured in a fire Jan. 11 in the Taylor County Town of Maplehurst.
Shortly after midnight Jan. 11, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a structure fire with injures located at N44 Clark Dr. Taylor County deputies along with fire and ambulance services were dispatched. Upon deputies’ arrival they found a homemade structure built from an old camper frame on fire.
The owner of the structure, 50-year-old Matthew J. Zarins, was injured while escaping the structure and was burned along with other injuries. Jennifer K. Johnson, 51, of Stanley. also escaped the structure but was severely burned. Both were transported by ambulance for medical treatment. Johnson succumbed to her injuries and died. Zarins recovered.
A three-month long investigation by the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office into the death of Johnson has resulted in Zarins’ arrest.
On May 3 at approximately 4 p.m. an arrest warrant for Zarins was executed at 123 North Thomas Street in Loyal.
Taylor County Detectives, with the assistance of the Loyal Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, entered the residence and ultimately located Zarins hiding in the attic to avoid detection. Zarins was subsequently taken into custody on a Taylor County warrant without incident.
Zarins faces the following charges in Taylor County: Homicide by Negligent Handling of a Dangerous Weapon, Class G Felony; Manufacturing of Methamphetamine, Class F Felony; Possession of Materials for Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Class H Felony; Maintaining a Drug Trafficking Place, Class I Felony; Possession of Waste from Methamphetamine Manufacturing, Class H Felony.
