Columbus police said a fire that killed three people and injured two was intentionally set by their son, who also died in the fire, according to an incident report.
The Columbus police Homicide Unit and the Columbus Division of Fire are investigating the cause of an early-morning house fire in the 2900 block of Freedom Trail near Reynoldsburg, Nov. 17. Mame Khaly Dieye, 61, and Safietou “Sophie” Diop Dieye, 57, died in the fire along with their adult son, 25-year-old Cheikh Dieye.
Makhtar Dieye, another son, was not in the home during the fire. His wife and young child, who survived the blaze, suffered injuries as they escaped from an upper-floor window.
A neighbor called 911, saying three people were trapped inside the burning home and neighbors were unable to get inside the house to free them, according to a recording of the call obtained by the Dispatch.
Son had history of domestic violence
Police responded to the home three times in 2023 for domestic violence-related incidents, according to Columbus police records.
In 2022, Cheikh Dieye was charged with two counts of domestic violence and aggravated menacing in the Franklin County Municipal Court. According to court records, Chiekh Dieye made multiple threats to kill his mother and father.
On June 4 of that year, Chiekh Dieye’s parents told police they had received multiple threats from him. They said that day he was smoking weed by the front door of the home, and he said he would kill them both when asked to stop, according to a probable cause affidavit.
On March 4, 2023, Chiekh Dieye was again accused of making threats against his parents. Police said in a criminal complaint that Chiekh Dieye told his mother, “If you don’t move from me, I’m going to kill you.” Chiekh Dieye was charged with domestic violence and menacing.
Those 2022 and 2023 cases, and a robbery charge where Cheikh Dieye stood accused of pushing a gas station employee out of the way as he stole cigars, were dismissed after the court found him incompetent to stand trial.
Some of the court records list Chiekh Dieye’s address as the home on Freedom Trail, while others describe him as homeless.
Dieye was also found incompetent to stand trial after he was indicted on three robbery charges in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in 2022. He was held at the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare from June 2023 until he was found competent to stand trial in October 2024, and pleaded not guilty or no contest to the charges the next month. He was sentenced to three years’ probation on Dec. 4, 2024.
Columbus police have not named any suspects in the fire or said publicly whether foul play was involved.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Deadly Columbus house fire may have been set by victims’ son, police say
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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