ALTOONA, Wis. (WEAU) – Charges are now filed against the man in charge of the deadly Altoona house fire on Monday, June 15.
32-year-old Tyler Stanton is charged with homicide by negligent handling of fire, two counts of disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments, and misdemeanor battery with domestic abuse assessments.
According to a criminal complaint, an officer reported that a female approached him and said that Stanton was by the house and to not let him out of their sights. She claimed that Stanton had threatened harm to the family and had threatened to burn the house down in the past.
A Lieutenant reports he spoke to Stanton on the scene. He asked how the fire started and Stanton said he was trying to burn lint off a shirt and it spread to the couch. Stanton said his dad was in the bedroom upstairs and he tried to wake him but he didn’t make it.
The Lt. requested that Stanton be taken to the Altoona Police Department and interviewed.
During the interview, Stanton said he was trying to burn lint off a t-shirt in the basement and it spread to the couch. He wanted to get the fire extinguisher from the garage, but too much stuff was in the way, describing the house as a hoarder house.
Stanton later said he forgot to mention that there was an empty grocery bag by the shirt that started on fire first. When asked why he started the bag on fire, Stanton said he was bored.
Stanton claimed he went to get his dad, who was sleeping when the fire started, and he went to try to wake him up but his dad freaked out. Stanton said he had trouble seeing so he left the house. He thought his dad was following him, but he didn’t come out. By that time, he said it was too late to go back into the house.
Stanton’s mom was interviewed and she said Stanton was struggling with mental health, including having issues with his temper and having very bad anxiety. She said there were no threats from Stanton and he didn’t threaten to burn the house down or anything of that sort.
According to the criminal complaint, the autopsy showed soot in Stanton’s dad’s trachea and in his lungs. He also had some broke ribs and vertebrae. The preliminary result shows death due to carbon monoxide/smoke sook inhalation.
Stanton appeared virtually in court Friday. A $250,000 cash bond was set.
His next court date is set for June 30.
The state said the arson investigation is ongoing and they are going to see if more serious homicide charges are warranted or not.
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