Man died of smoke inhalation in Cleveland duplex arson, medical examiner says
Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com
August 28, 2016 at 5:15 PM, updated August 29, 2016 at 7:10 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland man who died last week after police say his girlfriend set fire to their West Side duplex died of smoke inhalation, officials said.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled Frank Salamone's Aug. 20 death a homicide.
The 46-year-old man was inside his duplex in the 8600 block of Platten Avenue when police say his girlfriend, Elizabeth Scott, 49, set fire to their home, police said.
Scott then ran outside and down to the end of the street, neighbors said.
A 27-year-old man who rented a room on Scott's side of the duplex jumped from a second-story window and screamed for everyone to get out.
He said he tried multiple times to get back into the home to save Salamone but the flames were too intense.
A family of three living on the other side of the duplex escaped unharmed. Their side of the duplex had a working smoke detector, but Salamone's side didn't, fire officials said.
Neighbors said they saw Scott and Salamone drinking heavily Friday evening.
Salamone was found dead on the first floor of the home with a cut on his forehead, police said. Two German Shepherds also died in the fire.
Scott is charged with aggravated murder. She remains jailed on $1 million bond while a Cuyahoga County grand jury decides how her case will proceed.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland woman is accused of intentionally setting a fire at her West Side duplex that killed her friend and two dogs.
Elizabeth Scott, 49, is charged with aggravated murder. She is in the Cleveland City Jail awaiting her first court appearance, likely Monday or Tuesday.
The fire killed 46-year-old Frank Salamone, who police records say was a border and a friend of Scott's. A police spokeswoman said the two were boyfriend and girlfriend. Neighbors said two German Shepherds also died in the fire.
The death, if officially ruled a homicide, would be the city's 68th this year. Police said Salamone appeared to suffer from smoke inhalation and that he also had a cut on his forehead.
The fire broke out about 5 a.m. Saturday at a brick duplex in the 8600 block of Platten Avenue, between West 85th and West 87th streets, fire department spokesman Larry Gray said.
Gray said a man later identified by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner as Salamone was found dead in the first floor of the home. Neighbors said he was found near the backdoor to the home. The medical examiner will determine how Salamone died.
A neighbor called 911 after seeing smoke coming from the right side of the duplex. The fire burned quickly. Flames soon shot from the first floor out of the porch windows and the side windows on both floors.
A 27-year-old man also living on the same side of the duplex jumped out of the second floor window in his boxers and yelled for everyone to get out, neighbors said. He sprained his ankle, police said.
A family of three living on the other side of the duplex escaped unharmed. Their side of the duplex had a working smoke detector, but the other side didn't, Gray said.
The other side of the duplex never caught fire, but that side of the home still had smoke and water damage, Gray said. The Red Cross is assisting the family in finding temporary housing.
Neighbors said Scott has become known in the neighborhood as an odd person who was regularly seen walking up and down the road arguing with herself.
In one incident about two weeks ago, police were called after the woman through block-glass windows on to the street. Police made the woman sweep up the glass, neighbors said.
She's been convicted of drunken disorderly conduct three times since 2011, court records say.
Neighbors also said they saw Scott and Salamone drinking heavily Friday evening.
Scott hid around the corner after the fire started and the neighborhood swarmed with firefighters and homicide investigators. She was arrested after being interviewed by detectives and was booked into the jail about 1:30 p.m.
Gray said investigators the cause is currently listed as "undetermined."
The fire did not spread to adjoining homes. Kim Dobek, whose home is less than four feet from the duplex, said her cat woke her up after the fire started.
"I looked out of the window and there was a huge ball of orange flames," Dobek said. "I grabbed the baby and the cat and we got out of there."
Neighbors said the duplex owner had been trying to evict the man and woman for at least several weeks.
Betty Adkins, who has lived on the street for some four decades, said a young boy died in a fire at the same duplex.
The 10-month-old boy, Jordan Mann, died March 25, 1985 after his 3-year-old brother set fire to an imitation fur coat inside the duplex, Plain Dealer archives say. The intensity of the fire kept the boy's mother and a live-in babysitter from getting to the boy, who was asleep in his crib in an upstairs bedroom.
A fire battalion chief at the time said the duplex did not have a working smoke detector and that the fire would have likely been discovered soon if it did.
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The accused arsonist, Elizabeth Scott, 49. She definitely has an evil face.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland woman is being held in jail on $1 million after police say she intentionally set fire to her duplex, killing her boyfriend and two dogs.
Elizabeth Scott, 49, made her first court appearance on Monday on an aggravated murder charge. The judge ordered Scott to receive psychiatric treatment in the jail.
Scott's case was bound over for a Cuyahoga County grand jury that will decide how the case will proceed.
Scott's boyfriend Frank Salamone, 46, suffered from apparent smoke inhalation and had a bruise on his forehead. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner will determine how he died.
Two German Gehpherds also died in the fire.
Scott about 5 a.m. Saturday set fire to her brick duplex in the 8600 block of Platten Avenue.
A neighbor called 911 after seeing smoke coming from the right side of the duplex. The fire burned quickly. Flames soon shot from the first floor out of the porch windows and the side windows on both floors.
Salamone was found dead on the first floor.
Justin Blackburn, 27, who rented in a room in the duplex from Scott, said he woke up to smoke in his room. He opened his door and saw flames shooting up the stairs.
"I went back in and shut the door and tripped trying to get to the window," Blackburn said. "I jumped out of the window onto a lower roof in the back, then to the ground. I wanted to get Frank out of there, but there was no way. There were flames shooting out of all the windows."
Blackburn said he never noticed anything out of the ordinary between Salamone and Scott. He said they had normal relationship issues and that Scott regularly drank. He said both were drinking the night of the fire.
"Whenever she was drunk when I came home from work, I'd just leave and wait until she passed out to come home," he said. "They were drinking that night. I just came home and went upstairs."
Blackburn, who installs gutters on houses and is an amateur guitarist, said he didn't Scott well enough to say if he could have killed Salamone.
He said he's concerned now with trying to salvage any of his belongings that were left in the now boarded up apartment, especially a guitar his father gave him weeks before he died.
"There's a lot of sentimental stuff in there," Blackburn said.
A family of three living on the other side of the duplex escaped unharmed. Their side of the duplex had a working smoke detector, but the other side didn't, Cleveland fire department spokesman Larry Gray said.
Neighbors said they saw Scott and Salamone drinking heavily Friday evening.
Scott hid around the corner after the fire started and the neighborhood swarmed with firefighters and homicide investigators. She was arrested after being interviewed by detectives.
Gray said investigators the cause is currently listed as "undetermined."
It's the second fatal fire at the duplex since 10-month-old Jordan Mann died March 25, 1985 while sleeping in his crib. His 3-year-old brother accidentally set fire to a fake fur coat. That side of the duplex did not have working smoke detectors at that time either.