A suspected serial arsonist has pleaded not guilty after being charged with murder in connection with a Hollywood house fire that killed two elderly sisters last month, prosecutors said.
ByA suspected serial arsonist has pleaded not guilty after being charged with two murders in connection with aJovan Lamar Duverne, 39, was also charged with 11 counts of felony arson after allegedly setting a series of fires across Hollywood, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said.
"Setting fires anywhere is reckless and extraordinarily dangerous, but deliberately igniting multiple fires in a residential community shows a shocking disregard for human life," District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. "We allege this defendant went on a dangerous arson spree across Hollywood that ultimately claimed the lives of two elderly sisters inside their home. Our hearts are with their loved ones as they mourn this devastating loss." Duverne faces a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, as well as sentence enhancements related to a prior arson conviction, including a second-strike allegation, according to prosecutors. He is being held without bail. Between Jan. 26 and Feb. 4, 2026, Duverne allegedly set fires at 10 locations in Hollywood, using a handheld torch-style lighter, the DA's office said. He then allegedly walked between locations lighting rubbish and attempting to enter buildings. On Feb. 4, around 2 a.m., Duverne allegedly set fire to a residence, which resulted in the deaths of Maria Del Consuelo Alarcon-Valdez, 76, and Yolanda Honda, 82. Duverne was arrested later that day near Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place, authorities said. Asked by ABC7 for additional details about the arrest, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office said they would emerge in court proceedings. If convicted as charged, Duverne faces a sentence of up to death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said, adding that a decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date. A deadly house fire that killed two sisters in their Hollywood home is now being investigated as a crime, and police tied the fire to others that burned in the same area. The case remains under investigation by the DA's office's Arson and Explosives Section and the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division, with assistance from the Los Angeles Fire Department's Arson Counter Terrorism Section.
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