NV - Twelve dead, 31 injured in arson fire at Mizpah Hotel, Reno, 31 Oct 2006

[Beyond Belief]

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A convicted murderer accused of killing 12 people and injuring dozens in a hotel fire pleaded not guilty Friday to arson and multiple counts of first-degree murder.

Valerie Moore entered the pleas three weeks before prosecutors are scheduled to tell the court whether they will seek the death penalty.

Authorities are reviewing the mental competency of Moore, a casino cook accused of setting fire to a mattress Halloween night after arguing with another resident at the 84-year-old, $150-a-week Mizpah Hotel near downtown Reno.

All 12 victims died of asphyxiation from smoke and soot, investigators said, and another 31 people were injured.

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[Peter Hamilton]

TWELVE people died in that Reno Nevada fire set by that woman?--geez, they oughta put her in a smoke filled room and let her expire--unreal crime

 

[Beyond Belief]

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A woman accused of setting a hotel fire that killed 12 people pleaded guilty to all charges Friday in a deal that will allow her to avoid the death penalty.

Valerie Moore, 47, a casino cook, had been charged with 12 counts of murder and one count of arson for lighting a mattress after arguing with another resident at the $150-a-week Mizpah Hotel near the downtown casino district.

"She will spend the rest of her life in prison," said District Attorney Dick Gammick.

All 12 victims died of asphyxiation from smoke and soot. The Halloween night blaze injured 31 others.

Moore's trial had been set for January 2008. Her public defenders have said she has a history of mental illness.

During a preliminary hearing last month, one tenant testified that Moore appeared intoxicated and threatened him earlier that night.

The hotel, built in 1922 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, was equipped with smoke alarms but was not required to have sprinklers.

Under the plea agreement, Moore will be sentenced to life without parole on each of the 12 murder charges, and five to 15 years in prison on the arson charge. Sentencing was set for March 16.
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