The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges on July 15 on Ryan Larose, 31, of the 2300 block of Telford Drive, for first-degree arson.

He is being held on a $100,000, cash-only, no 10% bond. 

The charges are merely accusations. Larose is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Per the probable cause statement, an officer arrived at the 2300 block of Telford Drive in response to a house fire on July 12 at approximately 7:19 p.m. The reporting party, who was walking her dog in the neighborhood with her husband at the time of the fire, stated she observed smoke coming from the house, prompting her to call the police. 

An elderly woman — now identified as the victim, Larose’s grandmother and a resident of the home — was sitting in the living room of the residence when she suddenly saw smoke emerging from the basement. She was later transported to the hospital due to her confused state and possible smoke inhalation. 

The victim lived in the home with Larose, as well as the unnamed owner of the home, who was not at the scene at the time of the fire. 

Security camera surveillance footage, provided by a witness, shows Larose entering the residence approximately one hour before the fire started. Larose was caught on camera leaving the residence; soon after, smoke was observed billowing from the home.

Lemay Fire Protection District Chief Larry Lewellen confirmed the fire to be suspicious, as there were four points of origin. In addition, four burners on the kitchen stove were set to the “high” setting. 

The plot thickened two days later when the St. Louis Fire Department reported a fire was intentionally set on Kingsland Court in the city’s Dutchtown neighborhood. Similar to the Lemay arson days before, the fire started in the kitchen.

The Dutchtown fire resulted in the death of a 66-year-old woman and an 81-year-old woman who were allegedly sisters. Though the victims’ identities have not yet been released, a police report for Larose’s South County arson case states, “the victim in this case and the homeowner of the residence in this case both died during a separate house fire in St. Louis City. The defendant knew both victims, and the defendant had listed both houses as his residence in the past. The defendant was uncooperative during the booking process and refused to be fingerprinted.”  

St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit detectives are handling this investigation.