Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Man Who Was Set Afire Dies of Burns
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A 20-year-old Santa Ana man who was doused with gasoline and set on fire on Thanksgiving Day has died as a result of his burns, according to the county coroner’s office.
Armando Soriano died on Christmas Day in the burn ward of UCI Medical Center in Orange, a deputy coroner said Wednesday. He suffered third-degree burns over 90% of his body.
Police originally arrested Soriano’s uncle, Marcial Vivar Castro, 37, on suspicion of attempted murder after relatives alleged that Vivar set Soriano on fire after a drunken dispute over payment of rent.
But the district attorney’s office decided not to press charges against the uncle after Soriano told investigators that he set himself on fire.
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