Overview
- A house fire on the 200 block of 15th Street late Tuesday night left four family members dead, including two young children, their 47-year-old grandfather, and their 33-year-old mother who died days after the blaze.
- Police say detectives concluded the blaze was intentionally set and arrested 32-year-old Sergio Ivan Rivera-Vega at the scene.
- The Contra Costa County District Attorney filed three counts of murder and arson causing great bodily injury against Rivera-Vega and set bail at $2.5 million with an arraignment scheduled in Martinez.
- Authorities say all victims were harmed by the fire with no evidence of shootings or stabbings before the blaze, and investigators are treating an earlier nearby fire that same night as unrelated.
- Family members have launched fundraisers to cover funeral costs, the affected homes are uninhabitable pending inspections, and if convicted Rivera-Vega could face life in prison without parole.