Trial Set for Suspect in 25 Fire Deaths
Trial will begin May 10 in Los Angeles Superior Court for Humberto de la Torre, accused of setting the Dorothy Mae Hotel fire that killed 25 people in September, 1982.
Defense attorney Earl Hanson said Thursday that he has never handled a case in which he did not hope to reach a non-trial solution up to the minute that jury selection began. He said he would continue to try to reach a compromise with Deputy Dist. Atty. Walt Lewis.
“We tried very hard,” Hanson said of his efforts to avoid trial, adding, “The district attorney has been more than fair, more than straightforward.”
Police allege that the fire was set in the apartment hotel on Sunset Boulevard in retaliation after De la Torre’s uncle, the manager of the building, yelled at him during a family dispute. Because of the multiple deaths in the fire, De la Torre could face the death penalty if convicted.
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