South African police arrest man who says he started a fire that left 76 dead to hide another killing

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man has been arrested hours after he claimed responsibility for starting a building fire in South Africa last year that killed 76 people while trying to get rid of the body of someone he had killed. The man’s apparent confession came as a shock when he was testifying at an ongoing inquiry into the cause of the fire. South African media reports of the testimony said that he testified that he had strangled a man in the basement of the rundown apartment complex before setting his body on fire. Police said later Tuesday that they had arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with the fire after he had confessed to being involved in the fire at the inquiry. The man wasn’t identified.