Prosecutor says Conn. man confessed to arson that killed 3 in 2011; defense attacks witnesses
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Authorities say a Connecticut man confessed three times to setting a 2011 fire that killed three members of the same family and forced others to jump out windows.
Prosecutor Deirdre Daly told a federal jury in her opening statement Monday that witnesses will testify that Hector Natal admitted setting the fire in New Haven that killed 42-year-old Wanda Roberson, her 8-year-old son, Quayshawn, and 21-year-old niece, Jaquetta Roberson.
Natal is charged with arson resulting in death, witness tampering and conspiracy to distribute drugs. His father is charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence.
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Their attorneys say the case is based on unreliable witnesses.
Authorities say Natal set the fire in part as retaliation for failure to pay a drug debt involving someone who lived in another unit in the multifamily house.