Woman suspected of capital murder, arson in Christmas Eve killings at Fort Worth apartment
A 35-year-old woman on Christmas Eve set a fire in an east Fort Worth apartment that trapped and killed two people, the Fort Worth Fire Department has alleged.
Kristen Lewis was on Friday arrested on suspicion of capital murder of multiple people and an arson offense.
Lewis was among five acquaintances who were squatting in a vacant apartment at the Tides at Meadowbrook, a complex in the 600 block of King George Drive. After a disagreement, Lewis intentionally started the fire and left the apartment, authorities alleged. Once the fire became apparent to the others, who were elsewhere in the unit, one person escaped through the front door, and another jumped from a third-floor window.
Dwight Durham and Galisha Gaston could not escape the flames.
Durham, 47, died on Dec. 27 at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. Gaston, 28, also died at a hospital.
Lewis was at the time of the killings the subject of a bond violation warrant in connection with a methamphetamine possession indictment.
“Arson is a crime of opportunity that is frequently used for threats and intimidation,” Fire Chief James Davis wrote in a statement. “In Fort Worth, if you use fire as a weapon, we will aggressively investigate and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The three-alarm fire was under control in about an hour. A firefighter was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The fire displaced 25 residents.
The fire department’s arson unit and the Fort Worth police homicide unit jointly investigated.
This story was originally published January 5, 2024 at 5:28 PM.
