A 73-year-old registered sex offender faces charges of second-degree murder, arson, and a hate crime after attempting to burn down the home of a lesbian couple and their eight children while the family was inside of it, CBS Miami reports:
Miami-Dade Police said Braulio Valenzuela-Villanueva, 73, entered the lot next door to his on NW 27th Avenue and allegedly set fire to a mattress that was leaning against the wall of the trailer occupied by the women and children.
Police said as the fire began to get worse, “the defendant hurried back to his residence.” The fire began to burn the trailer, but there were no smoke detectors inside, police said. A neighbor from across the street saw the fire and began to alert people of the impending danger.
The women and children inside the burning trailer escaped after being awakened by the neighbor from across the street. Police said Valenzuela-Villanueva came out of his home and “casually began observing the fire. In fact one of his neighbors had to compel him to assist bringing a garden hose” to fight the fire.
The fire department came and put the fire out. A surveillance video shows Valenzuela-Villanueva setting fire to the mattress.
Valenzuela-Villanueva told police he tried to burn the house down because they were gay:
"He stated that he despised the two adult victims for the simple fact that they were lesbians," the report said. "According to the defendant, every time he saw them kissing he felt a deep repugnance, and in his opinion they did not deserve to have children."
He is in custody.
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