The Gary man charged with the murder of Maria Leal, 87, in a Portage apartment fire early Tuesday is set to appear in court on Tuesday.
Jesse Chabes, 51, has been charged with murder, murder in perpetration of arson, arson and intimidation, all felonies. He is being held without bond at the Porter County Jail.
Leal’s death was from carbon monoxide asphyxiation secondary to arson, the autopsy report says. Porter County Coroner Cyndi Dykes ruled Leal’s death a homicide.
Fire investigator Mike Vogely found a nearly empty bottle of lighter fluid on the ground near a patio side table, according to court documents. Vogel determined the fire was incendiary. “All reasonable hypotheses involving the building systems inside the apartment were refuted as possible causes of the fire,” Portage Police Detective Trent Howard reported.
Chabes and Leal’s daughter were at a Lake Station bar together Monday night when she and Chabes, her boyfriend, got into an argument. They left separately, with Chabes driving his girlfriend’s vehicle, court documents say.
A Crown Point Fire Department dog found traces of accelerant in the girlfriend’s bedroom.
According to a friend with Leal’s daughter that night who answered the daughter’s phone, Chabes said, “I’m going to burn her mom’s house down,” court documents say.
A neighbor shared video footage and information from the city’s FLOCK camera system also has been useful, according to court documents.
Chabes was stopped by police while driving near the fire scene at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. An empty beer bottle was on the floorboard. Chabes was taken to Porter County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
His initial hearing is at 9 a.m. Tuesday before Porter Superior Court Judge Mary DeBoer.
Leal was found inside the ground-floor apartment after the fire was extinguished.
The fire was reported shortly after midnight Monday night at Swanson Court Apartments in the 3300 block of Willowdale Court.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
