Man charged in fire that ripped through Murray apartment complex

MURRAY — "Hey neighbor, there's going to be a fire tonight!"

That's what Forrest Xavier Wilkinson is accused of saying — allegedly while laughing — shortly before a large fire caused heavy damage to an apartment complex in Murray.

Wilkinson, 27, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony, in the large fire that ripped through the Stillwater Apartments, at 5560 S. Vine Street, on July 1.

Shortly after the conversation with the neighbor, Wilkinson was seen running from the third story apartment yelling, "Fire! Fire!" according to charging documents.

When police arrived at the scene, "Wilkinson spontaneously uttered that he needed to be upfront with the officers and admitted he lit his apartment on fire," the charges state. He allegedly said he believed he was being followed by police, so he doused his apartment with lighter fluid and then lit a piece of paper on fire.

Investigators learned that shortly after the fire started, Wilkinson called his mother and said, "Mom, the apartment is on fire. Can you come pick me up?"

At first the mother didn't believe her son. But when he called back, he stated, "I think I may have started it," the charges allege. Police say he later told his mother, "I shouldn't have done what I did, how I did it," followed by, "I'm furious but I'd do it again, you know what I mean?"

At least 50 people were displaced from the apartments because of the fire.

Prosecutors noted in the charges that Wilkinson's alleged actions "indicate that he is not thinking rationally and is paranoid," and they requested that he be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail.

Early estimates by the fire department placed total damages to the complex at about $500,000. No serious injuries were reported.

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