EL PASO, TX — A 20-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder after prosecutors said she deliberately set fire to a residential apartment building in an attempt to collect insurance money from a business she owned on the ground floor.
Sarah Mitchell entered a guilty plea in El Paso County Circuit Court, bringing an end to a months-long investigation into one of the city’s deadliest residential fires in recent years.
According to investigators, the fire began shortly after 2:30 a.m. on May 14, when multiple emergency calls reported flames engulfing the three-story mixed-use building. Firefighters rescued numerous residents, but six people—including two children—died from smoke inhalation and burn injuries. Thirteen others were hospitalized.
Authorities initially believed the blaze may have been accidental. However, investigators from the fire department, state fire marshal’s office, and ATF determined that an accelerant had been used in the commercial space on the building’s first floor.
Surveillance footage captured Mitchell entering the building approximately 20 minutes before the fire was reported. Cell phone location records, financial documents, and recently purchased insurance policies further focused investigators on the business owner.
Search warrants executed at Mitchell’s residence uncovered receipts for fuel purchases, internet searches related to fire investigation techniques, and handwritten notes outlining plans to file an insurance claim after the building was destroyed, prosecutors said.
Mitchell was arrested three days after the fire without incident at a relative’s residence on the outskirts of El Paso. Officers from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office took her into custody after executing an arrest warrant. During questioning, investigators said she eventually confessed to starting the fire but claimed she never intended for anyone to die.
Prosecutors argued that intentionally setting a fire in an occupied apartment building demonstrated extreme disregard for human life and constituted premeditated first-degree murder under state law.
Facing overwhelming physical evidence and forensic testimony, Mitchell waived her right to trial and pleaded guilty to:
- Six counts of First-Degree Murder
- One count of Aggravated Arson
- Thirteen counts of Attempted First-Degree Murder
- One count of Insurance Fraud
Relatives of the victims addressed the court before sentencing, describing the lasting emotional impact of the fire and urging the court to impose the harshest punishment available.
Mitchell declined to make a statement before sentencing.