D.C. man charged with killing ex-girlfriend, two others in Southeast house fire

D.C. police said Monday they arrested and charged a man with murder for allegedly setting a Southeast home on fire and killing three people inside, including the suspect’s former girlfriend.

It was the worst fire in terms of loss of life in the District in more than a decade.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said authorities took Robert Simpson, 56, of Southeast into custody on murder and arson charges in connection to the deadly blaze that burned through the house early Sunday.

The chief said Mr. Simpson’s ex-lover, 34-year-old Jessica Cunningham, was found dead inside the charred two-story townhome on the 3400 block of 23rd Street Southeast.

Officials said another victim, 64-year-old Robert McKinnon, also died at the scene. Fire crews were able to pull 85-year-old Margaret McKinnon from the wreckage, but she later died Monday morning at a hospital.

“It is clearly a case of domestic violence where three people lost their lives over a senseless interpersonal conflict,” Chief Smith said at a press conference Monday.

Capt. Jeffrey Wade, who heads up MPD’s homicide branch, said authorities were called to the home multiple times in the hours before the fatal fire was started.

The first call came around 7 p.m. Saturday for a report of a broken window. Capt. Wade said no suspect was in the area when officers arrived.

D.C. Fire and EMS were sent to the location about two hours later after a fire was reported in the rear of the house. 

Officials said a window shade and a trash can had both been set on fire — and quickly extinguished — prompting the captain to suggest they were both intentionally started by the suspect.

Capt. Wade said Ms. Cunningham called police around 3:30 a.m. Sunday to report that Mr. Simpson assaulted her the day before.

Officers arrived and searched the area for about an hour while looking for the suspect. They also did not observe any visible injuries on the victim.

Police said they returned to the home around 5:30 a.m. for reports of a fire, and crews worked to put out the aggressive blaze.

“We do believe an accelerant of some type to be involved. That is under investigation,” Capt. Wade said.

Authorities said they arrested Mr. Simpson on the 1500 block of Mississippi Avenue Southeast around an hour after the fire was first called in. 

Officials said Mr. Simpson used to live at the home with Ms. Cunningham, and the two had called police on each other multiple times in the past year.

D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said it had been since 2010 that the city witnessed three people killed in a house fire.