Crime Voice

Aptos—Fire investigators determined that the cause of a house fire that killed one woman and sent her daughter and elderly mother to the hospital was started accidentally by a small electrical appliance. Susan Wilkinson, 66, died early Monday morning following a blaze that broke out in her residence. Wilkinson’s daughter, Mary Burick, 43, and her mother, Merle Wilkinson, 89, were both hospitalized with serious injuries. Homicide detectives with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s department joined fire inspectors with the Aptos/La Selva Fire Department in investigating the source of the fire because of the fatality.

Aptos-Fire investigators are combing through the remains of a three-bedroom home where one woman was killed and two injured following an early morning fire Monday, Jan. 8th trying to discover how the conflagration was ignited. A 66-year-old woman who was carried out of the home by firefighters was rushed to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, where she later died. The victim’s 89-year-old mother, and 43-year-old daughter were also injured in the blaze, and are expected to recover from their injuries. The victim’s names have not yet been released. Homicide detectives from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s department are investigating the incident, along with fire fighters who are looking for the cause of the blaze, which destroyed the home valued at $770,000.