Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Wife, Son Arrested in Man’s Death : Crime: Before a fatal fire in Littlerock, the retired LAPD sergeant had told doctors he believed his spouse and her stepson were having an affair.

In a bizarre twist to a death in Littlerock that police originally believed was caused by an accidental fire, authorities on Tuesday arrested the victim’s wife and son on murder and arson charges.

Before he died, the victim told his doctors that he believed his wife and son were having an affair and that he feared for his life, police said.

Joy Hooker, 49, and her stepson David Hooker, 31, were arrested Tuesday nigh after hours of questioning by Los Angeles police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide and arson investigators, sheriff’s spokesman Bill Martin said.

The two originally claimed that a sofa and carpet in the living room were ignited by fireplace sparks.

Thomas Warren Hooker, 58, a retired Los Angeles police sergeant, died of smoke inhalation April 19 after he was trapped in his bedroom during the fire. Hooker suffered from diabetes, was legally blind, had had several toes amputated and had failing kidneys and a weak heart, authorities said. The case had remained under investigation since the fire.

Hooker’s son and second wife admitted Tuesday evening that they had started the fire to collect on an insurance policy, but said they did not intend to kill Hooker, Los Angeles Police Homicide Sgt. Doral Riggs said.

“They said they had planned the fire and that they had also made elaborate plans regarding their own escape, but said they didn’t consider how he would escape,” Riggs said.

Riggs said the elder Hooker’s bedroom door, which was usually left open, was closed the night of the fire. Additionally, the wife and son admitted that they removed a smoke detector in the house before starting the fire.

“It looked like he attempted to escape from the bedroom and fell down because he had a bruise on his forehead,” Riggs said.

The wife and son, who told police that they escaped through their respective bedroom windows, said they had broken the elder Hooker’s bedroom window to try to save him.

The elder Hooker had told his doctors that he suspected his son and second wife were having an affair and feared that they might harm him. He had recently threatened to kick his son out of the house because of those suspicions, Riggs said.

Joy Hooker and her stepson told police that their “relationship had gotten out of hand,” but did not say whether they were having an affair, Riggs said.

The family was also under extreme financial pressure, which probably compelled the two to commit the crime for insurance money, authorities said.

“The house was about to be foreclosed, the car had been repossessed. . . . They hoped to get enough (insurance) money from the contents of the house to catch up with their payments,” Riggs said.

The pair are being held in Los Angeles County Jail without bail. Arraignments are scheduled for today.