Aaron RochesterThe death of a victim injured in an apparent arson fire Friday at the home in Cedar Bluff, Ala., led to upgrading of the suspect’s charges of attempted murder to capital murder and first-degree arson.
Aaron Rochester, 50, is being held at the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash bond on the arson charge while no bond is set for the murder charge, Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver said in a statement.
Shaver said the victim, 50-year-old Donna Marable, died Wednesday in Georgia from injuries sustained in the fire at a home the two shared on County Road 131.
The sheriff said evidence indicates that a brief argument took place before Rochester assaulted Marable.
“It is believed the suspect set fire to the house with the victim inside, then fled the scene,” Shaver said.
A Cherokee County EMS crew transported the injured Marable to the Cedar Bluff High School football field where she was airlifted to Grady Medical Center’s burn unit in Atlanta for treatment of her burns.
Shaver said officers from the Cherokee County Major Crimes Unit, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Cedar Bluff Police, and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, searched for Rochester throughout the weekend finally taking him into custody on Sunday.
According to the Associated Press, Marable was found Friday suffering from serious burns in the front yard of the Cedar Bluff residence around 8:30 p.m. CDT.
Cherokee County Major Crime Unit Investigator Josh Summerford told the Gadsden Times at the time of Rochester’s arrest that charges could be upgraded if Marable didn’t survive.
Marable and Rochester had been in a relationship, according to authorities.