Police: Victims restrained inside house; fire intentionally set

By Pashtana Usufzy

Published Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015 | 2:34 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015 | 5:40 p.m.

The victims in a fire Monday were restrained inside an east valley house before it was intentionally set ablaze, according to Metro Police and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials.

Nobody has been arrested, and police say they still haven’t figured out a motive for the bizarre incident that left one person dead and three at University Medical Center with serious burns.

A male of unknown age was found dead inside the house, and two women a witness saw outside with burns and still bound with duct tape were in critical condition, according to police and fire department officials.

Metro Officer Larry Hadfield says the victims were bound with plastic straps.

A man suffering burns and a stab wound was discovered walking down the street, and a neighbor rescued a child from the house unharmed, officials said.

The neighbor was treated for smoke inhalation.

An explosion and fire were reported about 12:30 p.m. at the single-story house at 52 Sherrill Circle, near Charleston and Lamb boulevards, according to police.

The victims “were restrained inside of the residence” when it was set on fire, police said today.

Michael Contreras, 47, said he was waiting for his wife and friend outside a nearby bank when he saw smoke.

He said he drove to the scene, where he saw two women “hand-tied and duct-taped” outside with burns covering much of their bodies.

Contreras said he took off his coat to cover up one of the women and broke a window to see if anyone else was in the house.

“I kept screaming, ‘Is there anybody out there?’” he said.

It took crews about 10 minutes to bring the fire under control; damage was estimated at about $150,000, fire department officials said. The cause is under investigation.

More than 60 fire department personnel responded to the scene.

Metro homicide detectives are investigating the death. The identity of the victim, as well as the cause of his death, will be released by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

Metro homicide detectives are investigating.

Anyone with information about the case can contact Metro’s homicide section at 702-828-3521 or via email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.