Woman charged with arson after deadly fire

Kamara Wheeler (Credit: Fulton County Jail)

Kamara Wheeler (Credit: Fulton County Jail)

A woman has been charged with arson in connection with a fire that killed a 63-year-old man, and Fulton County jail records show this isn’t the first time she has been accused of intentionally setting a fire.

Kamara Wheeler was booked into jail Tuesday, more than a month after a March 15 blaze at the Venetian Hills Apartments killed George Hughes, injured another person and displaced 31 residents.

One person died in an apartment fire at the Venetian Hills Apartments in southwest Atlanta. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

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Wheeler, officials said, had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend the day of the fire. He was one of the victim's roommates, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Investigators found evidence an accelerant was used and surveillance video from the apartment complex showed Wheeler running away from the unit as flames intensified, the television station reported.

By the time firefighters arrived, Wheeler was gone.

She was arrested Tuesday on an outstanding warrant in connection with a Nov. 1, 2014, fire, according to jail records.

According to a police report, Wheeler, who also goes by the alias Keisha Smith, was booked on arson and other charges after she allegedly set an abandoned home on fire. A judge granted her bond after that fire, the television station reported.

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