A Washington, D.C., landlord who illegally modified his building was convicted Thursday of two counts of second-degree murder after a 2019 fire turned the structure into a death trap.
James G. Walker, 67, was found guilty in D.C. Superior Court of multiple charges, including 27 criminal building code violations, after a fire killed 40-year-old Fitsum Kebede and 10-year-old Yafet Solomen. Trapped by dangerous conditions that the landlord failed to fix, the victims had no way out as the fire tore through the building, prosecutors said.
