A Lake Charles man has been found guilty of murder in connection with a 2020 fire that left a mother and her 12-year-old daughter dead. Her son, who was 11 at the time, survived.
A jury found Casey M. Hatch, 40, guilty as charged, of two counts second-degree murder in the fire.
At the time, officials told us that the fire happened on January 14 in a mobile home located on Dobbertine Drive in Lake Charles. Firefighters found Hatch, Marie Bourque, 39, her daughter, 12 and her son, 11, in the burning home.
The girl died a few hours later and Bourque died two days later. The coroner said both died of smoke inhalation. The little boy was in critical condition after the fire, but he did survive.
State Fire Marshal investigators determined that the fire started in a bedroom; they told us that Hatch confessed to setting the fire as an attempt to commit suicide. He was booked with murder after he was released from the hospital.
Sentencing for Hatch will be July 21, 2023 before Judge Robert Wyatt. Hatch faces mandatory sentences of life in prison without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence on each count.
Assistant District Attorneys Charles Robinson, Conrad Huber, and Jordan Sutterfield prosecuted the case for the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.
