Man accused of killing niece and nephew in Fresno house fire says he was ‘teleported’

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — On Tuesday, a double murder trial resumed in Fresno District Court with new evidence related to a tragic house fire that killed two babies.

“The front of the house, doors and windows were covered in black soot from the house fire,” said Sergeant Benjamin Barnes of the Fresno Police Department. “The interior was completely dramatic.”

According to prosecutors, Filimon Hurtado set fire to this single-family home in downtown West Fresno in May 2022. His one-year-old niece and five-month-old nephew were killed and their mother was injured.

Action News cannot show Hurtado, but he has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and arson.

On Tuesday, the jury heard testimony from a doctor who treated Hurtado for depression and mania just two years before the fatal fire.

“You suggested he seemed depressed?” asked public defender Roy Park. “Yes,” said Dr. Joseph Alimasuya.

“He seemed unhappy?” “Correct,” replied the doctor.

“Tired?” “Yes.” “Depressed?” “Yes,” said the doctor.

Hurtado’s public defenders say he was insane and had stopped taking his medication for bipolar disorder when he set the fire.

In a video played by the prosecution, the jury heard a monologue from Hurtado himself, which he uploaded the day before the fire.

“At some point during my investigation that day, I became aware that Filimon Hurtado had made a YouTube video,” said Sergeant Barnes.

Action News cannot show the video, but for several minutes, Hurtado describes how he was kidnapped, cloned and teleported. “They’re coming to get everybody,” he said in the YouTube video.

In another video taken by police after the fire, Hurtado confessed to pouring gasoline on a sofa and a carpet and setting them on fire. From his hospital bed, he told investigators: “People have to take a stand. We’re going to end up as martyrs.”

The jury will continue to hear evidence for several days.

If convicted, Hurtado could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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