Police are investigating whether three fire-related crimes in South Los Angeles, including a garage fire that claimed the lives of a mother and child, may be linked to each other.
Oscar Reyes is searching for answers as to why his common-law wife Gisela Yauli, and their 1-year-old son, Dillan Reyes, were found dead in the burned-out garage they were living in at 489 E. 49th Street.
"(I'm) hearing the same things, but not knowing exactly what really happened," Oscar Reyes said. "I start thinking like, what happened? Why wasn't I there or why couldn't I have done something?"
Firefighters said it appeared to be an accidental fire, until investigators found the woman's arms and legs had been bound together. Police ruled their deads a homicide.
"They just told me that they had found her tied up," Reyes said.
Los Angeles police detectives are considering the possibility that a man they have in custody may be behind the fire.
Police said Robert Ransom, a man they arrested three weeks ago on a parole violation, matched a composite sketch of the suspect sought for kidnapping, raping and nearly killing a 16-year-old Fremont High School student on March 20.
The case was similar to another on March 2, when a 19-year-old girl was found bound and burned in South Los Angeles.
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"Our investigators are looking at all cases where burning was involved in any type of homicide," LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman said.
The deaths of Yauli and Reyes would have been the second of the three crimes.
"They took my loved ones away," the father said.
