Murder, arson charges filed in June house fire in Columbia
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man was charged Friday with arson and murder in a June house fire on Paris Road.
Brandon Butchkoski, 47, is accused in the death of Donovan Baylis. Baylis died after he was burned in a fire that was set at his home. Baylis died about a month later at a St. Louis hospital.
A witness told investigators that he heard a thud and other noises before the fire that indicated someone was outside the house, according to a probable cause statement. Another witness told officers that they saw a person pour gas on the porch before setting the fire.
Officers found a backpack about a block away that had a gas nozzle and smelled of gas, the statement says.
Surveillance cameras in the area captured video of the suspect riding away on a bicycle that matched one Butchkoski was known to ride, the statement says. Police also arrested Butchkoski after a June 29 fire in which a backpack with gas in it was thrown on a house’s roof, in the same block as the June 15 fire.
Police say in the statement that they developed evidence to arrest Butchkoski on the June 29 arson before they had enough evidence to recommend charges for the June 15 fire. Butchkoski, who is homeless, was denied bond, according to court records.
Butchkoski was charged with first-degree arson and drug possession for the June 29 fire. Hearing in that case is set for Oct. 20.
He posted bond on Sept. 9, according to court records, and was arrested on the new murder warrant Thursday.