The man found guilty of setting fire to his house and killing four family members back in 2018 was sentenced to life in prison.
Charles DuBois was given four life sentences for first-degree murder charges without the possibility of parole. He received an additional 25-year sentence for arson. DuBois was convicted on several charges back in May.
During the sentencing, the prosecution called DuBois and his actions "evil", telling Judge Thomas Miller that "evil deserves only one sentence."
DuBois' defense team pleaded with Judge Miller, saying everyone deserves a chance at having redemtion and that their client suffers from mental illness.
After sentencing concluded, Defense Attorney David Zukher re-affirmed the influence of his client's mental health on the actions he committed.
DuBois' family was visibly emotional during the sentencing. Assistant District Attorney Michael Manfredi says the family feels a sense of justice over the sentence, but that the pain will remain for the remainder of their lives.
Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds and the crew that responded to last year's blaze was present Friday morning. Monds discussed the difficulty his department faced in dealing with the case and thanked Judge Miller and the prosecution for their work.
Fire crews responded to a house fire at 253 Fitch Street in Syracuse in April 2018. Crews had to rescue DuBois’ mother, 45-year-old Susan Wagner; his sister, 18-year-old Korinna DuBois; his brother, 16-year-old Michael DuBois; and his nephew, 1-year-old Hunter DuBois from the home. They all later died from their injuries.
A fifth victim was able to escape from a second-floor window.
DuBois was also charged with second-degree assault because two firefighters were injured while battling the flames.
During the trial, Syracuse Police officers that took the stand kept recalling how much smoke and fire there was, and prosecution asked them to go through the timeline of the fire.
Police testified that when they questioned Dubois about not being at the house, he kept giving different stories. First, he said it was to walk the family dog, then he said he was going to walk with the dog to his girlfriend's house to break up with her. He even stated he left the home because he was being harassed by gang members.
