Man wanted for questioning in deadly fire near Albany
WHITE CREEK, NY (AP) -- An ex-convict wanted for questioning in a New York house fire that killed his mother and two others was taken into custody Wednesday in New Hampshire, and authorities said his girlfriend and their infant son were found safe.
Authorities had been searching for Matthew Slocum since the fire early Wednesday in White Creek, N.Y. He was found late Wednesday in Gilsum, N.H., where the suspect's car had been found abandoned hours earlier, Massachusetts State Police said.
Authorities had said Slocum may have been holding his girlfriend, 25-year-old Loretta Colegrove, against her will, along with their infant son, Raymond. Amber alerts were issued in New York and New England.
Slocum is the son of Lisa Harrington, who died in the fire early Wednesday along with her husband, Dan, and his son Josh in White Creek, which is 35 miles northeast of Albany.
Slocum was taken into custody in a home in Gilsum and the Amber alerts were canceled, said David Procopio, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman. New Hampshire State Police could not immediately confirm the capture, saying all officers were at the scene.
The alerts had been issued after Slocum left the burning home in a black 2003 Ford Mustang. He was reported near Adams, Mass., at about 5 a.m., and authorities said the empty vehicle was found late Wednesday afternoon in Gilsum, 75 miles northeast of there.
Guns known to be in the home couldn't be accounted for, and police told the Glens Falls Post-Star they were asking neighbors whether they heard shots before the fire.
Dan Harrington was a deputy highway superintendent. "They were good people. Dan was a real good employee," White Creek town Supervisor Bob Shay told the Post-Star. "We all feel horrible. It's just so sad."
He said Harrington and his wife served on the town recreation committee.
Slocum went to prison in 2006 for breaking into a house and stealing cash, a New York prison spokesman said. He was released but returned to custody twice for violations before his parole expired in December 2009.
On Wednesday afternoon, emergency crews remained on the scene of the charred remains of the house, set back from a remote country road on heavily wooded property.
Police haven't released any information about the cause of the fire.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
