In this May 24, 2012, photo, Captain Steve Franklin, a fire investigator with the Phoenix Fire Department, looks over a house in central Phoenix that was admittedly burned down by an 11-year-old with a history of problems. Arson investigators for the Phoenix Fire Department are getting noticed as their case clearance rates are well above the national average. Between January and late May, the department’s 16 fire investigators have been called out to 353 fires with 90 of those labeled as arson. Of the 90, investigators have cleared 57 percent. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle)PHOENIX (AP) – A man collapsed in court and died after being convicted Thursday of deliberately burning down his $3.5 million Phoenix mansion.
Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies said they were investigating whether Michael Marin put something in his mouth that led to his death after the verdict was read.
“We will have to wait until we get toxicology reports from the medical examiner until we can confirm if he did and what the substance was,” sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Sprong said in a written statement.
A jury had found Marin, 53, guilty of arson of an occupied structure. When his trial began in May, prosecutors said he faced up to nearly 16 years in prison if convicted.
Video from inside the courtroom showed Marin putting his hands over his eyes after the verdict was read and then covering his mouth with both hands.