Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman said late Thursday afternoon that two people had been arrested in connection with the early morning fire that destroyed a home located south of Jasper.

According to Newman, the two suspects, who have not been identified, pending formal charges and arraignment, were charged with Burglary of a Habitation and Newman said that he and others believe the couple burglarized the house and then set in on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime.

The Volunteers of the Jasper Fire Department were dispatched to the home on Garland Smith Road, just off of Farm to Market Road 252, shortly after 4:00, when it was reported that the wood frame structure was on fire and arrived to find the house completely engulfed in flames.

Newman said no one was living there when the fire broke out and that no injuries resulted from the incident. However, Newman said that the circumstances surrounding the fire immediately led he and others to immediately believe the fire was intentionally set.

Officers also say that an unoccupied 2003 Mitsubishi SUV that was at the scene was also set on fire as well, but that the blaze apparently went out before firefighters arrived.

Word is that the home was owned by family of former longtime Jasper Fire Chief Dallas Matthews.

Ironically, Newman said that as he and others were still investigating the case, the alleged suspects showed back up at the crime scene.

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