{"id":229215,"date":"2026-05-12T22:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229215\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:53:15","slug":"horrific-nyc-fire-that-killed-3-including-top-veteran-fashion-journalist-was-sparked-by-cigarette-butt-da","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229215\/","title":{"rendered":"Horrific NYC fire that killed 3 \u2014including top veteran fashion journalist \u2014was sparked by cigarette butt: DA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The horrific Inwood fire that killed three people, including a top veteran fashion journalist<\/a> and her elderly mother, was caused<\/a> by a neighbor who carelessly flicked his cigarette butt, prosecutors said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The tragic detail was revealed as suspect Victor Arias, 29, was arraigned in Manhattan court on three counts of criminally negligent homicide for the May 4 inferno \u2014 then freed on supervised release.<\/p>\n

Victor Arias, 29, allegeldy carelessly flicked hs still-smoldering cigarette butt on some cardboard boxes, igniting an Upper Manhattan fire that killed three people earlier this month. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

The fire soared through the building to its upper floors. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n

The Dyckman Street blaze erupted minutes after Arias tossed the remnants of a cigarette he\u2019d smoked into a pile of cardboard boxes in the first-floor lobby of the six-story Upper Manhattan walk-up, then casually climbed the stairs, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flames sparked by his still-smoldering cig spread from the boxes to the building\u2019s walls and ceiling and soared up the stairwell to the upper floors of the building \u2014 gutting its hallways and staircases, showed the court document and photos from the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fashionista editor Yolaine Diaz died along with her mom and a man in the building. instagram\/chicwantedny<\/p>\n

Yolaine Diaz \u2014 the 48-year-old former digital fashion and beauty editor for People en Espa\u00f1ol \u2014 her mother, Ana Mirtha Lantigua, 73, and Lance Garcia, 25, died in the fire.<\/p>\n

Diaz \u2014 who interviewed everyone from Eva Longoria to Shakira and Jennifer Lopez while at People \u2014 and her mom tried to escape the inferno through an inner staircase but were overcome by smoke and never made it outside, People en Espanol said.<\/p>\n

The pair and Garcia were found dead near the roof landing with burns covering their whole bodies, according to the court document.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The three fatal victims were found dead near the roof landing with burns covering their whole bodies. Robert Mecea for New York Post<\/p>\n

At least 14 other people were injured in the fire, including five who were listed in critical condition, the FDNY said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arias was arrested Monday, and Manhattan Judge Shirin Zarabi sprung him after his arraignment Tuesday, as requested by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

The DA\u2019s lawyers said that while the catastrophic outcome of the blaze should not be diminished, the evidence does not suggest the suspect intended to kill his neighbors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diaz, 48, was once the digital fashion and beauty editor for People en Espa\u00f1ol. instagram\/chicwantedny<\/p>\n

The Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office also noted that Arias turned himself in to authorities and has no prior criminal record.<\/p>\n

He was ordered to surrender his passport and abide by a 9 p.m. curfew and will be screened for electronic monitoring, prosecutors said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arias lives in the building with his mother and sisters and receives regular medical care that would be interrupted if he were held in custody, prosecutors added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The evidence does not suggest Arias intended the deadly consequences of the fire, prosecutors said. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n

Arias will reappear in court June 5.<\/p>\n

Diaz left the editorial staff at People in 2022 but continued to submit her work<\/a>, with her most recent story running April 26.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former co-worker Pia Velasco told the New York Times<\/a> that Diaz was especially close with her mother, who often traveled with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very, very refreshing to be around someone who knew exactly who she was and exactly what she wanted, and would go after it with all the excitement in the world,\u201d Velasco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a wonderful person. The world\u2019s a little bit more gray without her in it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The horrific Inwood fire that killed three people, including a top veteran fashion journalist and her elderly mother,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3283,27381,303,544,25790,57,9,56,63,65,64,58],"class_list":["post-229215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-arrests","tag-cigarettes","tag-crime","tag-fires","tag-inwood","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}