SAN DIEGO — The man accused of starting the Logan Heights house fire that killed his parents and sister is expected to be arraigned Tuesday, but court documents show Wilber Romero, 26, previously injured his father a year before the deadly house fire.
Wilber has denied his involvement in the deadly house fire, and before his arrest last week, he told News 8 he highly regarded his father, Jose Antonio Romero.
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“My dad is [a] hardworking person. Out on the streets they called him el nino because he looked like me, like a kid,” said Wilber last week.
Jose Antonio Romero, 44, was found dead inside the home in the early hours of Sunday, last week.
Court records indicate Wilber was arrested for assaulting his father last year with rocks and a brick. He was also accused of damaging or destroying more than $400 worth of items. During his arrest, Wilber resisted an officer.
News 8 was not able to access the case file to learn the outcome, but it appears Wilber was on probation at the time of the Logan Heights deadly house fire.
Wilber credited his mother, who was also killed in the house fire, for trying to encourage him to stay on the right path.
Days after the house fire, Wilber’s 21-year-old sister, Iris also died from her injuries. His 6-year-old brother, Angel, and 23-year-old sister, Wendy, remain at UC San Diego Medical Center’s burn center in critical condition.
Last Thursday, the day before his arrest, Wilber claimed his innocence and challenged investigators.
“There was one detective trying to get me to say, I did it. I can tell you, detectives, I am not going to say I did it because I know I didn’t do it,” he told News 8 cameras.
The following day, on Friday, Wilber was arrested on three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of arson.
Over the weekend, the Logan Heights community came together to help the family recover from the tragedy by hosting a car wash fundraiser to help the siblings still at UC San Diego Medical Center’s Burn Center.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Romero family with funeral expenses for the three members who lost their lives.