Even with a suspect, questions remain in fatal fire

Now that there's a suspect in the March 28 office building fire that killed three people, there's another question on people's minds: How could she have done it? But in the case of 33-year-old nurse Misty Ann Weaver, who confessed to setting the fire to cover up the fact that she hadn't completed some office paperwork, there apparently aren't any easy answers.

Weaver told investigators over the weekend that she intended to set a small fire to hide her failure to gather the necessary paperwork for an accreditation audit for her boss, plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Capriotti. Officials say they don't think Weaver ever thought the fire would end up being as devastating as it was — the top two floors of the northeast Houston building where she worked were destroyed — but that doesn't mean people should sympathize with her, one fire victim said. "I saw on the news where people are feeling sorry for her," Carronica McDonald told KTRK. "You shouldn't be feeling sorry for her. That woman killed three people." Capriotti told the Chronicle that Weaver was a model employee; though he didn't talk to Channel 13, his wife, Marlene, did. "I'm just hoping that she doesn't have to go to prison forever," Mrs. Capriotti said. "I'd just hate to see that."

KHOU has a couple more details from the investigation into the fire: According to HFD, the fire was started in a section of Capriotti's office that was packed with papers, and investigators said there's evidence that no one tried to put the fire out until it was much too late to stop it. Another thing: After the fire, Weaver continued working at Capriotti's relocated office, and neither the doctor nor Weaver's co-workers reportedly noticed any change in her demeanor despite the news of the death and destruction she says she caused. Weaver remains in jail, where she's on suicide watch and is being held on a combined $330,000 bond. She's due in court today, and KPRC legal analyst Brian Wice said it's unlikely she'll walk away without any jail time when all is said and done: "I would think that the defendant has a better chance of winning the Powerball" than of going free, Wice said.

And: Today's Chronicle has more details on the events that led Weaver to confess. Turns out she told investigators two different versions of her actions the day of the fire; when they confronted her, she "just broke down."