A serial arsonist terrorized Hollywood. It ended only after two sisters died in a house fire, authorities say

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The mysterious arson fires in a Hollywood neighborhood started small.Burning bus benches and a mattress near homes and vehicles.One inside an elevator vestibule and another in a parking garage.Then on Feb.

4, flames engulfed the Vista Del Mar Avenue home of Maria “Chelo” Vazquez, 76, who was recovering from a hip surgery following a bad fall.Her sister, Yolanda “Yola” Honda, 82, was staying at the house and helping her with the recovery.

It was the middle of the night.The women died.Now, authorities allege that that fire and 13 others in the area were started by Jovan Duverne, 39.

Two criminal complaints filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors outline what authorities said was an arson spree that ended with the killings of the women.The attack rocked the neighborhood as friends and family mourn the death of the sisters.Officials have not issued a motive for the fires.

Records show Duverne has a previous conviction for arson in 2015, when he set fire to city property less than two miles away from Vaqzuez’s home.He was sentenced to a year of mental health counseling and jail time as a result.

More recently, he was charged in January with vandalism and in separate cases in 2024 with threatening somebody with a weapon and misrepresenting his identity to an officer.His current attorney declined to comment.Vazquez died from burns and smoke inhalation, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined.

Fire officials said she died at the scene.Honda died four days later from complications tied to her burns and breathing in smoke.

Both deaths were ruled homicides.A crowdfunding page set up to cover funeral and memorial expenses, the search for Vazquez’s dog Coco, medical and other costs offered some heartbreaking details.“As flames engulfed the home, Chelo was briefly seen on the porch,” the GoFundMe page said.“Her final words to a neighbor were a testament to h...