A Lake Charles man convicted of murder in a deadly fire that left a woman and her daughter dead has been sentenced to two life sentences.
Casey M. Hatch, 40, was convicted in May of two counts second-degree murder. Those charges carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Today, Judge Robert Wyatt handed down those sentences, and ordered that they be served consecutively - or one after the other.
Assistant District Attorneys Charles Robinson, Conrad Huber, and Jordan Sutterfield prosecuted the case for the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Hatch was convicted 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.
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.
