Fire Death Ruled Homicide, Suspect Arrested

Police say the death of young woman last Friday in an early morning blaze was a homicide, and that department detectives have arrested a suspect.

The body of  Maria Donnely, a 28-year-old Pasadena resident, was discovered inside an apartment on South Meredith Avenue just below Colorado Blvd. after Pasadena Police and Fire personnel responded to and extinguished a fire shortly after 6 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 30.

Immediately thereafter, Pasadena Fire Dept. arson investigators and police detectives conducted a preliminary investigation to determine the cause of the fire as well as the victim’s death, officials say.

After the completion of an autopsy the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office classified Donnely’s death as a homicide.

Police report that the following day, October 1,  detectives developed a person of interest and arrested the suspect at his residence.  The suspect has been identified by police as Corey Green, 28, of Los Angeles.

This investigation remains ongoing as detectives continue to analyze and collect evidence.