Woman’s 81-year-old dad dies in blaze set by her roommate, Pennsylvania cops say
A Pennsylvania man stole his roommate’s car, drove to her parents’ home, and intentionally set a fire that killed her 81-year-old father, police say.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub announced criminal charges for Christopher George Gillie, 61, after he was arrested in the Dec. 5 fire at the home of Julius Drelick, 81, and Phyllis Drelick, 85.
Gillie lived with the Drelicks’ daughter in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, the district attorney said.
Police received a report of a fire at a residence in Bucks County at 3:07 a.m. Phyllis Drelick was able to escape the blaze and “miraculously” did not have any injuries, Weintraub said at a news conference.
The two Drelicks needed a chair lift to get up and down the stairs of their home, Weintraub said.
During the fire, Phyllis Drelick was able to escape using the chair lift, but the fire shorted the electricity in the chair before Julius Drelick could use it, too. He died from smoke inhalation and burns, Weintraub said.
Investigators detected an accelerant that was used in three areas of the residence to intensify the fire, Weintraub said.
Surveillance footage caught an SUV coming up the Drelicks’ driveway right before the fire, and driving away shortly after, and beer cans were found outside the residence.
The Drelicks’ daughter owns a vehicle matching the SUV’s description, Weintraub said.
Gillie was pulled over hours after the fire by police in Dunmore, driving the Drelicks’ daughter’s car. Police said he smelled of a “strong odor of gasoline,” and a lighter was next to him in the car. He was intoxicated when he was stopped, police said, and Weintraub noted Gillie was seen drinking beer hours before the fire.
Bucks County, where the fire was set, is nearly two hours away from Dunmore, which is adjacent to Scranton.
Police also found the Drelicks’ house keys in Gillie’s pocket and a rifle that was the Drelicks’ in the back of the car, Weintraub said.
Gillie faces 15 charges, including criminal homicide and aggravated arson.
“I can’t stop thinking about that chair lift frozen in place by the fire in the middle of the stairs. The defendant’s intentional fire caused the electrical short to the chairlift just after Mrs. Drelick used it to escape the fire miraculously unharmed,” Weintraub said. “This same fire prevented Mr. Drelick from doing the same thing, and he paid with his life. I cannot imagine the terror that they both must have felt as they were separated by that fire. Now, forever.”
Weintraub said investigators have “some motives” that are developing, but he did not elaborate.
Weintraub said the Drelicks’ daughter has been cooperative with police.
“I think fair assumptions could be drawn there that they were more than acquaintances, and more than roommates,” Weintraub said.
Gillie was sent to a correctional facility and held without bail.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Woman’s 81-year-old dad dies in blaze set by her roommate, Pennsylvania cops say."
