What to Know
- A 63-year-old woman was found dead on the first floor of a home in Queens late Tuesday night following a fire, according to the FDNY
- Firefighters quickly put out the blaze at a two-story residence on 219th Street in Queens Village after it was reported around 11:20 p.m.
- The victim has been identified as Bibi Jasmin; A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder and arson
A man has been arrested after police say he intentionally started a fire that killed a 63-year-old woman inside the building where he faced eviction.
The suspect, who family and neighbors say lived in the building on 219th Street in Queens Village, could be seen on surveillance footage pacing around two cars in the driveway just after 11 p.m. Tuesday night before appearing to enter and quickly exit the building.
Minutes later, flames can be seen in the reflection of a parked SUV. The man who lives in the garden unit of the building escaped the fire as a neighbor tried to battle the flames using a garden hose, video shows.
However another person inside could not escape the inferno, the FDNY said. Bibi Jasmin, who lived on the first floor, died in the fire. The 63-year-old had recently suffered a stroke and relied on a wheelchair to get around, family said, and may have been trapped by the fire.
A friend of Jasmin's says she had taken the suspect in, but had recently asked him to leave. The friend said that the suspect was dating Jasmin's niece.
The suspect was later identified as Rampersaud Persaud. The 48-year-old faces two counts each of murder and arson, police said.
Firefighters were quickly able to put out the blaze at the two-story residence, and discovered Jasmin after the fire had been extinguished.
The cause of the woman's death as well as the cause of the fire weren't immediately clear.
An investigation is ongoing.
