20-year-old arrested in deadly Boardwalk fire

ATF agent Marvin Richardson , left, stands by as interm Lawrence Fire Chief Mark Bradford, center, holds a short press conference on the arrest of Jason Rose, a resident of the Boardwalk Aparments. Rose is being held on suspicion of the setting of the fire and charges of 1st degree murder in deaths of three residents of the apartments.

Lawrence Police said this morning they had made an arrest in Friday morning’s deadly fire at Boardwalk Apartments in the 500 block of Fireside Drive.

Jason Allen Rose, 20, was booked into the Douglas County Jail at 2:29 a.m. Tuesday. He was booked on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson. Officials gave no other information about the arrest or investigation.

Rose was a resident of the Boardwalk Apartments at the time of the fire, officials said.

Three people were killed in the blaze, which witnesses said spread with unusual speed.

Rose is expected to be charged Wednesday during his first appearance in Douglas County District Court. Dist. Atty. Charles Branson said that he will probably ask for a bond “in excess of a couple hundred thousand” dollars.

This afternoon, officials confirmed the identities of two of the three victims, Nicole Bingham, a Kansas University senior from Wichita, and Yolanda Riddle, a social worker. Family and friends had identified Bingham and Riddle on Monday along with a third person, Jose Gonzalez, an electrician.

In a related matter, KU officials released a statement about Bingham, a Wichita North High School graduate, who had attended Wichita State University and was a senior at KU majoring in history. Bingham was an employee in the business office of the Kansas Union and was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

“The entire University of Kansas community is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of Nicole Bingham. We offer our most heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and colleagues,” Chancellor Robert Hemenway said in a prepared statement.

David Mucci, director of the KU Memorial Unions said of Bingham, “In her three years working with the Memorial Unions, Nicole proved to be a bright, capable and thoughtful individual upon whom we all relied. She won the respect and affection of all her co-workers. We mourn the loss of this special student and person.”