CHELAN, Wash. — The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday that a 41-year-old intentionally set a fire at a home over the summer that resulted in the death of two people.
Around 5 a.m. on Aug. 21, a fire broke out at a home on E. Woodin Avenue in Chelan. When crews arrived on scene, the two-story home was nearly engulfed in flames.
Fire crews worked swiftly to contain the fire and successfully prevented it from destroying a neighboring business called Kidoodles, and an adjacent residence.
Despite their efforts, the home was declared a total loss.
At the time of the fire, 11 people were inside the home.
Nada Davidson, 63, and Michael W Tappe, 67, were killed in the fire.
Two others were injured, including 41-year-old suspect Jason Glandon.
Glandon died from his injuries several days after the fire was set, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the CCSO, he died of a pulmonary embolism due to a deep vein thrombosis of the leg. At the time of his death (approximately four days after the homicide), Glandon had severe burns to the back of his legs, showing he was turned away from a fire or blastwhen he was exposed to intense heat or flame.
“Following Glandon’s death, investigators continued the case by executing follow-up search warrants and conducting additional interviews. Further evidence was obtained supporting the conclusion that Glandon had intentionally set the fire, resulting in the deaths of Davidson and Tappe,” CCSO wrote.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office told KIRO 7 that at the time of his death, it wasn’t immediately clear if Glandon was the only suspect. Detectives waited until they had all the information that he acted alone to name him as a suspect months later.
The sheriff’s office said that a combination of the “totality of circumstances” and physical evidence pointed them in the direction of Glandon’s alleged invovlement.