An arrest has been made in the Ohio State University arson that killed 5 students, including 3 Ohio University Students.
Robert Patterson, 20, was arrested Friday morning after investigators went to his house asked him to come in for questioning, Columbus Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said.
Patterson, who is not an OSU student, was charged with nine counts of aggravated arson, five counts of aggravated murder and three counts of attempted aggravated murder. Mercuiro said the prosecutor could add additional charges later on.
Investigators believe the arson was random and that Patterson did not know anyone at the party or in the house.
"He had zero to do with the people inside the house," she said. "It was just a random house he chose."
When brought in for questioning, police talked to him for three and a half hours and, based on information they already had and information gathered from him, arrested Patterson in the afternoon. Investigators had three people contact them through Crime Stoppers to report Patterson as a possible suspect, Mercuiro said.
Witnesses said Patterson was in the area at the time of the fire, around 4 a.m. Earlier that night, he had been involved in an altercation in a parking area where he was stealing car radios and selling them. He left and returned later. However, police have not located anyone who saw him set the fire.
Patterson is the same suspect police released a description of in July. He is a white male, 5-foot 11-inches, weighing about 200 pounds with medium-length shaggy blonde hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a blue-black jean jacket with a "Snoop Dogg" logo on it with the letters "SDC" printed underneath.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Patterson would be arraigned Saturday morning, and it will be requested that he be held without bond.
"We still consider him a danger to the community," O'Brien said.
He said no decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty if Patterson is convicted of aggravated murder.
The OU students killed in the fire were Andrea K. Dennis, 20, of Madeira near Cincinnati; Erin M. DeMarco, 19, of Canton; and Christine Wilson, 19, of the Columbus suburb of Dublin. The OSU students were Alan Schlessman, 21, of Perkins Township near Sandusky; Kyle Raulin 20, of West Chester.
The three women were members of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Chapter adviser Susan Chiki said she was not overly optimistic about the arrest.
"It might bring some closure," she said. "But from my viewpoint I don't think it's going to make that much of a difference" because it will not bring the victims back.
Chiki said sorority members are planning to create a garden as a memorial to the women, but details about the location of the garden are still undecided.
OU Dean of students Terry Hogan said he was appreciative of the Columbus Police's efforts in investigating this case and he hopes the arrest brings "some degree of relief or encouragement" to the victims' families.
Mercurio said the police tried to keep the families as informed as the investigation allowed but were careful not to "jump the gun."
"If a lead dries up, we don't want to revicitimize them," she said.
— Nick Juliano and The Associated Press Contributed to this article
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