Indian sentenced to life for setting of fire that killed 3 including his dauhter

Sixty-five year old Subhash Chander, 65, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for setting an apartment fire that killed his daughter, son-in-law and 3-year-old grandson in 2007.

Earlier a jury had convicted him of three counts of first-degree murder for pouring gasoline outside the Oak Forest, Illinois apartment of his 22-year-old daughter, and setting it ablaze, Chicago Tribune reported.

Monika Rani, who was pregnant with her second child; her husband, Rajesh Arora, 30; and their son, Vansh Kumar, died in the fire that destroyed the 36-unit building at LeClaire Ave.

Chander, who lived across the street, was arrested the following day and has been held without bail at Cook County Jail since January 1, 2008.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brewer said it was ‘one of the most shocking’ cases he had ever presided over and called Chander's actions the most ‘callous and cruel commissions of murder I'm likely to see in my lifetime.’

The judge said he could not fathom what drove Chander to commit the arson, and that instead of being a loving father and grandfather he ‘incinerates his grandson, his daughter and his son-in-law,’ the report said.

Assistant State's Attorney Mary Lacy said, because of the number of deaths involved ‘he will not see the light of day as a free man.’

Chander's attorney, Tom Moore, told Brewer that his client ‘continues to maintain his innocence,’ but Brewer did not argue for leniency, acknowledging that the law is quite clear regarding the sentence of mandatory life without parole

When police and firefighters arrived at the LeClaire Station apartment building the night of the fire, which broke out about 10:45 p.m., residents were jumping from balconies of the two-story building. It wasn't until the fire was extinguished and investigators had determined that the upper floor of the building had collapsed that the three bodies were found.

First Assistant State's Atty. Robert Milan said in 2008 that Chander told police that he was upset with his daughter and son-in-law because they married without his consent, and he considered Kumar to be from a lower caste than his daughter.