What to Know
- The deaths of two men in a Queens blaze two days before Christmas have been ruled homicides
- It's still not clear what sparked the fire at the building on 150th Street in Jamaica on Dec. 23; the victims lived in a 2nd-floor apartment
- David Hawkins, 64, was pronounced dead at a hospital; John Wigfall, 86. was initially taken there in critical condition but later died
The deaths of two men, one 64, the other 86, in a blaze that broke out in a Queens building with a storefront church two days before Christmas have been ruled homicides, police said Thursday.
It's still not clear what caused the Dec. 23 fire at the three-story building on 150th Street in Jamaica, which has two floors of apartments above the Next Generation of Victory Temple. The victims, David Hawkins and the older John Wigfall, both lived in the same apartment above the church.
Hawkins was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after he was pulled from the burning building; Wigfall initially was taken to the hospital in critical condition but later died.
No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.
