NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man was found dead after firefighters responded to a house fire in Norfolk Tuesday morning, and detectives have classified his death as a homicide.
Norfolk police stated on Twitter that fire and rescue crews responded to a house in the 1400 block of Picadilly Street, near the Park Crescent neighborhood, around 8:20 a.m.
Responding crews entered the home and found a man dead inside.
Chief Damon Langley said it does not appear that the person died from the fire. Their body was found in a separate room from where the fire started. As a result of the preliminary investigation, detectives believe the man’s death was a homicide. His body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death.
Monday afternoon, detectives arrested the suspect after a police chase in Chesapeake. The man who was found dead was later identified as 30-year-old Demont A. Brooks.
Langley said firefighters extinguished the small fire by the front door within seconds. The cause of the fire is also under investigation.