FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Months after a man talked to 7News about a Fort Lauderdale high-rise fire that killed his roommate, he is now the prime suspect in the fiery death.
Back in early December, Keith Rush said he had no idea what sparked the blaze inside the ninth-floor condo he shared with 93-year-old Howard Perkins at Ocean Summit Condominiums on Galt Ocean Drive.
“The flame was so ignited, I didn’t know he was in there,” said Rush.
But investigators have since determined that Rush, 56, was the one connected to the fatal fire.
He was taken into custody on Thursday and faces a first-degree murder charge.
Police said the unit Rush shared with his longtime roommate caught fire on Dec. 3.
In an interview conducted shortly after he was released from the hospital, Rush said he had fallen asleep in a bedroom while Perkins was in the living room.
“My friend was filling out property tax stuff. The light fell on his sweater and the chair, they both caught fire. The smoke detector woke me up,” he said.
Eight months later, it appears his account isn’t exactly what detectives said happened.
Rush is being held without bond at the Broward County Jail.
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