Brampton basement fire turns into crime scene as roommate charged with arson, second-degree murder

Three days after a suspicious fire in the basement of a home on Pennyroyal Crescent in Brampton claimed the life of an 80-year-old man, the Homicide Unit of the Peel Regional Police charged the victim’s roommate, 26-year-old Julius Adigun, with arson and second-degree murder. 

Peel police were first called to the home at approximately 2 p.m. on July 2 after reports of a fire in a residential unit. Upon entering, fire crews found the 80-year-old man with “obvious signs of trauma” and no vital signs. It’s unclear if the trauma was a result of the fire or some other cause. He regained a pulse after treatment from emergency responders and was rushed to hospital, but later died.

After Fire Services completed their duties on-site, the Peel Police Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) initiated an investigation. On July 5, Adigun, who police described in a press release as the victim’s “roommate”, was charged. A request for clarification sent to Peel Police to determine whether the victim was a tenant and if Adigun was renting to him in some form of arrangement was not returned. 
 

A fire took the life of an elderly man in the basement of a semi-detached house on Pennyroyal Crescent on Sunday.

(Samanah Ali/The Pointer)

The Pointer visited the home on Pennyroyal Crescent on July 5. A man who answered the door and identified himself as the home’s owner said the elderly man who passed away was renting the basement of his house. He did not provide any other information.  Neither Peel Police, the City of Brampton, nor the Fire Marshall’s office would confirm whether the unit was legally registered as a secondary suite. 

Multiple units on Pennyroyal Crescent appear on the City of Brampton’s official list of registered two-unit dwellings, but 24 Pennyroyal, where the fire broke out, is not listed.

The house at 24 Pennyroyal Crescent where the fatality took place. 

(Samanah Ali/The Pointer)

While the circumstances surrounding the latest fatal Brampton fire remain unclear, the incident marks the latest in a string of fire-related deaths that have plagued Brampton over the last 18 months.

In early June, a woman and a child were killed when a fire broke out in a home in the Jade Crescent and Jayfield Road area. No smoke alarms were found on the first storey, or in the basement of the house where the family lived.

The incidents mark a continuation of the “tragic” year that was 2022 for Brampton Fire which saw 10 people lose their lives in house fires. 

Fire authorities have singled out “hot zones'' in the city, where fires are most prevalent. Areas surrounding Bramalea City Centre (95 fires since 2012), Brampton West (75 fires since 2012) and Armbro Heights (77 fires since 2012) are all part of these “hot zones.”

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Twitter: @SamanahAli

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