Man killed in fire didn’t live in vacant home where found
PLYMOUTH (AP) – A man found dead in a house fire in northeastern Pennsylvania didn’t live there, and authorities aren’t sure why he was in the vacant structure.
Twenty-four-year-old William Paterson had another address in Plymouth, a borough about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) southwest of Scranton.
But he was found dead in the upstairs of the vacant home, also in Plymouth, after the fire was reported about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Court records show Paterson was due in court for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. that day on assault, harassment and public drunkenness charges stemming from a bar fight in October.
State police fire marshals were investigating the blaze.
The home’s owner, Rafael Grullon, says he bought the building at a tax sale in January and doesn’t know Paterson or how he got inside.