Man faces murder charge after fire death ruled a homicide

A man arrested after a fire killed a Las Vegas woman and three dogs late last year is now facing a charge of open murder, court records show.

The Clark County coroner’s office on Thursday ruled that Melynda Bown, 35, died from “homicidal violence” and ruled her death a homicide.

She was found dead inside a mobile home in the 6200 block of East Sahara Avenue, near Tree Line Drive on Nov. 10 after a fire. Shyhelee Coleman, 35, was arrested in Carson City on Nov. 16 after a standoff with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office.

Coleman was originally charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count of arson, and three counts of torturing, maiming or killing an animal. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center and scheduled to face a judge Monday on the murder charge.

Police said Coleman and Bown had been in a dating relationship.

A person who lived in the home with Coleman and Bown told police that the two were locked in a bedroom before the witness started to see smoke and kicked open the door to find the bed “completely on fire.”

Fire investigators later determined the cause of the fire was “most probably open flame ignition of ordinary combustibles by human hands and/or with the use of an accelerant,” according to a police report.

The report released in November said Bown may have died before the fire started because the medical examiner did not find soot in Bown’s throat.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.