More than three decades investigators concluded a fire that killed a couple inside their Eckington rowhouse was an accident, however D.C. police said Monday the deaths have now been ruled a double homicide.
They initially thought the cause was a carelessly discarded cigarette.
D.C. police said are now investigating the deaths of Bessie Mae Dunkin and Roy Picott as homicides.
More than three decades investigators concluded a fire that killed a couple inside their Eckington rowhouse was an accident, however D.C. police said Monday the deaths have now been ruled a double homicide
Chief Peter Newsham says the case was revived after an inquiry received by the homicide unit’s cold-case squad.
The Washington Post reported no arrests have been announced in the January 1985 deaths of Bessie, who was in her 40s, and her husband, Roy, 39, but police have a suspect, serial arsonist Thomas Sweatt, who is the prime focus of the investigation.
Authorities did admit that prosecuting a decades-old case could be difficult.
Sweatt, now 63, admitted setting a string of 45 fires in the D.C. region and pleaded guilty in 2005. He is serving a federal prison term of life with an additional 136 years.
The Washington City Paper reported in 2007 that Sweatt confessed to killing the couple.
The chief said the earlier media reports should have been an indication to look into Sweatt. ‘He had said something to a reporter, saying he was involved,’ Newsham said.
D.C. police said are now investigating the deaths of Bessie Mae Dunkin and Roy Picott from 1985 as homicides
‘It was years ago that information had become available, and I would suggest that, at that point, probably some additional follow-up should have been done — and it was not.’
Sweatt’s attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s office in Maryland did not respond to inquiries.
The fire occurred January 11, 1985, in a house on Quincy Place NW, just off Florida Avenue.
Bessie’s body was found in a second-floor bedroom while Roy escaped but died at a hospital on March 5.
Anyone with information that could aid detectives in their investigation was urged to call the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $25,000.