Fire death treated as murder

Published 29 Jun 2010 10:08 0 Comments

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A MURDER investigation has been launched after a woman died in a house fire.

The victim has been named locally as Saimah Ali, but police would only confirm the person who died was a 23--year-old woman as the Midweek went to press.

Mrs Ali was visiting her mother in Moor Lane, Maidenhead, at 12.30am on Friday when the fatal blaze started.

Neighbour Razwana Choudhrey said: "She was such a lovely and bubbly person who had such a caring nature and was always smiling.

"She would always talk to everyone and will be missed very much. This has come as a massive shock to the whole community."

Police suspect the fire was deliberately started and have said there were 15 people in the house, including a seven-month-old baby.

Police and fire forensic teams are probing the cause of the fire and are awaiting confirmation from structural engineers that the house is safe enough for further investigation.

Det Supt Karen Trego, the senior investigating officer, said: "This is an active murder investigation and we would like to hear from anyone who knows anything about what happened on the night or saw something suspicious in the area at about 12.20am."

Neighbours reported huge flames coming from the house and hearing people shouting and screaming.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I heard screaming and shouting and people just kept coming out, as well as some kids."

One man is believed to have jumped to safety and a 30-year-old neighbour is believed to have used his ladder to help children escape from an upstairs window before fire crews from Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor arrived.

Mrs Ali's body was found in the house after the fire was brought under control. A post-mortem carried out over the weekend showed she died from smoke inhalation.

One man was taken to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough with a broken leg and a woman was admitted suffering with smoke inhalation. She has since been released.

Ch Supt Dave Lewis, Berkshire East's police commander, said: "We are working very hard to solve this case and have poured a lot of resources into it.

"Our officers are out patrolling the area and we are working very closely with the people affected by this tragic incident."

Anyone with information can call police on 08458 505505, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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