Deadly Athens County apartment fire leaves one dead, suspect arrested
A man was found dead in a The Plains apartment fire, and Andrew Joseph Martin was later identified as a person of interest. By May 6, Martin was in jail on an unrelated sex-offender warrant.
The deadly fire in The Plains left one man dead in the middle unit of a three-apartment building, and investigators quickly turned from the flames to the question at the center of the case: accident, arson, or homicide. The blaze at 15 Cross Street, near West Third Street, destroyed the unit in a multifamily residence owned by the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Authorities said the Ohio State Fire Marshal and the Athens County coroner both confirmed a fatality. The coroner was still working to positively identify the victim and notify next of kin, while investigators continued to sort out how the fire started and whether the death was tied directly to the blaze or to something that happened before the fire took hold.
By later that day, the Athens County Sheriff’s Office had identified Andrew Joseph Martin as a person of interest. Investigators said video showed Martin leaving the scene on foot toward Connett Road, and ABC6/WSYX reported he was also seen making a phone call near Spices of Life coffee shop on North Plains Road around 9:30 a.m. From there, he headed off in an unknown direction.
The sheriff’s office described Martin as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and about 135 pounds. He was last seen wearing a checkered button-up shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and a green knit cap. The office also said Martin had an active Franklin County warrant for failure to register as a Tier II sex offender, a detail that raised the urgency of the search as deputies tried to locate him.
Sheriff Rodney Smith asked the public for help, saying every tip would be taken seriously. By May 6, local stations were reporting that Martin had been arrested and booked into the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, with custody tied to the Franklin County warrant. Authorities had not said whether fire-related charges had been filed, and that missing step still marked the difference between a tense investigation and a full criminal case.
For Athens County, the case hit a nerve. The sheriff’s office says the county covers 508 square miles and has more than 65,000 permanent residents, with a large student population in session during the school year. The Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority says it has served the county since 1967, which made the fire at one of its properties more than a scene of destruction. It became a death investigation with a suspect already in view, and a final answer still waiting in the ashes.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
