Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man in 2018 Apartment Fire That Killed San Angelo Woman

SAN MARCOS, TX — A Hays County grand jury has declined to indict the man accused of starting the 2018 San Marcos apartment fire that killed five people — including 19-year-old Haley Michele Frizzell of San Angelo — effectively ending the case nearly seven years after the deadly blaze.

Jacobe Ferguson, 31, of Austin, was arrested in 2023 and charged with arson causing death in the fire at the Iconic Village Apartments near Texas State University. The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. on July 20, 2018, after someone ignited a discarded mattress in a breezeway. The building quickly went up in flames while most residents were asleep.

Frizzell was among five people found dead in the rubble. The other victims were Dru Estes, 20, of San Antonio; Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells; David Angel Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena; and James Phillip Miranda, 23, of Mount Pleasant. Their deaths were all ruled homicides.

The lone survivor from the second floor, Zachary Sutterfield of San Angelo, suffered a traumatic brain injury and severe burns to 70% of his body. He continues to recover from his injuries.

Ferguson, a former Texas State student, was initially accused of setting the fire out of anger and depression. Witnesses cited in the arrest affidavit said Ferguson had previously discussed the mattress’s flammability and later admitted he had lied to investigators about knowing it was there. Despite those claims, the grand jury found insufficient evidence to indict.

“We have failed to find a bill of indictment against the accused,” the grand jury stated in a court filing Wednesday, while encouraging law enforcement to continue investigating.

Ferguson was released from jail on bond in late 2023.