PR Man Accused of Scorching Family with Blowtorch

EREZ, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 7: Palestinian laborer Mahmoud el-Ai, 25, uses a blowtorch to weld steel on a truck-trailer being built in a Palestinian-owned workshop August 7, 2005 in the Erez industrial zone in the Gaza Strip. A week ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement from the Gaza Strip which is scheduled to start on August 15, 2005, the few Palestinian entrepreneurs who have invested their savings in the industrial zone face an uncertain future, not knowing whether their factories will remain open or be forced shut, or even if they will continue to have access to the Israeli markets they once served. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images) (2005 Getty Images)

A 45-year-old man, accused of lighting a blowtorch and scorching his parents and seven other relatives in Florida, is being charged with murder after two of his relatives died of their wounds.

Justino Sánchez Díaz, had been arrested on attempted-murder charges for the New Year's Day attack. But the Puerto Rico Justice Department announced Monday that a 17-year-old niece and 32-year-old cousin of Sanchez have died from their burns. Seven others are injured.

Police say Sánchez sprinkled gasoline around a room Saturday at his parents' home in the northern town of Florida and then set it on fire with a blowtorch as 13 family members gathered for a meeting. The motive for the alleged attack is unknown.

A statement from the department says the parents suffered severe burns and were hospitalized in critical condition.

The seven relatives were also being treated for their wounds but were not burned as severely.