After admitting to locking a woman in a store unit that then caught fire, one man has been arrested.
30-year-old Alexander Wardell was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on Saturday night after the woman and her dog died in the storage unit fire that same evening. Wardell was booked on charges of Kidnapping and Negligent Homicide.
Murray City Fire Department was dispatched to the store unit building just before 5 p.m. after receiving reports of a fire involving six of the units. After putting out the fire, the victim and her dog were found inside one of the units.
Wardell later spoke with Murray Police, admitting that he closed the storage unit with both the victim and her dog inside, locking it, and then leaving the area on foot. According to police, the victim was Wardell’s girlfriend.
Wardell is being held without bail and is pending trial.
