A 25-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with a fire that killed two men in Winnipeg.
Police say Justin James Rosdobutko of Winnipeg faces two charges of manslaughter in connection with the deaths from the fire on Oct. 11 at Aquarius Men's Bath on Notre Dame Avenue.
Robert Clark, 62, of Saskatchewan and Steven Yablonski, 23, of Winnipeg both died in the blaze.
One witness at the bathhouse the night of the fire heard someone say "we should burn this place." An hour later Rick Busser says the bathhouse was on fire. Busser tried to help people get out of the burning building.
Police also say the fire was deliberately set.
"We have determined that the fire was deliberately set so we're dealing with an arson. As a result of that arson, two individuals have lost their lives," said Const. Jason Michalyshen. Police do not believe the two victims were targeted.
The fire also caused more than $500,000 in damage to the building, said police. The bathhouse's owner Chai Peng says he hasn't been able to sleep since the fire. He's relieved someone has been charged, but wants to know why the blaze was started.
Peng says witnesses told him two men went into an unlocked room and tried to set it on fire three times.
"Usually I can handle stress, but this has been the worst time of my life," said Peng.
His business has been closed since the blaze but now that a suspect has been charged he says he can concentrate on getting his business running again.
- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
