A Cobb County man is accused of setting two cars on fire, causing a house to ignite and kill two people and six animals, police said Wednesday.
Robert Colt Smith, 30, of Mableton, was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of murder, first-degree arson, two counts of second-degree arson and aggravated cruelty to animals, jail records show.
On March 12, officers and firefighters were called to a home on Janet Lane near Austell on a report of a house fire, according to Sgt. Wayne Delk with Cobb police. Investigators later determined two vehicles, a Honda CRV and a Ford Freestyle, had been parked outside and set on fire, Smith’s warrant states.
Inside the burning home, firefighters found 74-year-old Michele LaCroix and 52-year-old Andrea Nall, Delk said. Both were taken to Cobb Wellstar Hospital but died from their injuries.
“The fire would spread to the occupied dwelling, which resulted in the death of two persons and six animals,” the warrant states
Five cats and one dog were found dead inside the home, police said.
Smith was identified as a suspect “through the tireless efforts of this entire team of investigators,” Delk said in a statement.
No information was released on Smith’s relationship to the two people who died. Address records show the two lived in the home.
In a separate case, Marietta investigators charged Smith with aggravated assault and aggravated battery after he allegedly strangled and beat a woman Feb. 26, an arrest warrant states.
He was being held without bond late Wednesday at the Cobb jail.
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