WARREN — Two people arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection to the fatal Jan. 19 fire on Nevada Avenue NW made their initial appearance on aggravated murder charges Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas court.

A third suspect remains at large, and the city’s prosecutor said a grand jury could consider death penalty-level charges in the case.

Judge Sean O’Brien ordered Brendan Michael Daviduk, 28, and Patricia Ann Zarlingo, 27, both of Manchester Avenue in Youngstown, held without bond in connection with the arson and death of a 16-year-old Warren G. Harding student, Chassidy Broadstone.

An affidavit showed the tragic fire may have resulted from a “feud involving adults.”

They both are charged with aggravated murder — as is a third person that detectives said was placed at the scene of the fatal fire by cellphone tracking and video cameras.

That third person, identified as 23-year-old Zackary Gurd, also of Youngstown, remains at large, according to Warren detective Michael Altiere, lead detective of the case. The two arrested had a romantic involvement, he said.

Altiere said local authorities are continuing to look for Gurd as they are pursuing leads. He said federal marshals have not yet been used in the search.

The three were charged in a prosecutor’s complaint, but city Prosecutor Traci Timko said a Trumbull County grand jury will get the case and “death penalty level charges could remain on the table.”

The prosecutor’s complaint contained an affidavit written by Altiere that pieced together the case.

In ordering the two defendants held without bond, O’Brien noted that there is a flight risk, and a need to ensure the public safety.

CAMERAS

At a news conference at the Warren police station after the court hearing, Altiere credited the community’s support with helping to solve the crime. Photos depicting a possible suspect and a vehicle at the scene of the fire were released.

“After we released those photos, the public outpouring of information was remarkable,” Altiere said. “(The investigation) started with that info we received from the community.”

Timko lauded the work of the Warren detectives, cooperation of the public and the teamwork displayed by Warren police, Warren fire and the state fire marshal’s office in getting the arrests within two weeks of the fire.

“This is how we want all investigations to go,” Timko said.

According to the affidavit, the investigation caught its first break about an hour after the fire when Altiere talked to Broadstone’s mother Rose Richards, who said the surveillance cameras at the Nevada Avenue residence captured two suspects inside the home “before and during the time the house was set on fire.”

According to the affidavit, the video also caught:

• Two suspects observed in the garage area about 1:38 a.m. Jan. 19;

• One suspect observed kicking a door located in the garage that leads into the home at 1:39 a.m.;

• Both suspects are observed inside the residence at 1:40 a.m. with one suspect wearing gloves and a mask, observed removing a television. The other suspect, whose face was visible, is observed carrying a gas can and wearing a hooded Levi’s sweatshirt. This man was observed a minute later bringing an item, believed to be a Microsoft xBox into the garage area;

• At 1:41 a.m., the suspect who removed the television retrieves the item and leaves. The suspect carrying the gas can stays in the garage;

• At 1:42 a.m., flames are observed “shooting” out of the door connecting the inside of the residence to the garage. The suspect who was observed carrying the gas can is observed being thrown against the wall opposite of the door — presumably from the backdraft of the fire. The suspect then retrieves the item suspected to be the xBox and the gas can before the video ends.

State fire marshal investigator Todd Stitt, at the news conference, confirmed the fire started on the first floor area and there were gasoline traces found at the scene.

About two hours after the fire, detectives went to a neighboring home on Nevada that had a surveillance camera pointed toward the scene. After reviewing the video, detectives observed an SUV traveling north about 13 minutes prior to the fire call. Another video caught a GMC, possibly a Yukon, traveling east on Ward Street coming from Nevada. It then pulled into a driveway and turned around heading back toward Nevada as it left the camera’s view.

The next day, Altiere released the captured photos of the suspect at the scene and the vehicle to the public.

Later, an informant told detectives the identity of the suspect was Gurd and the vehicle was a GMC Yukon XL owned by Zarlingo, the affidavit stated. The witness stated he was familiar with the Yukon because he put the rims on it and replaced its front end. He recognized the vehicle because of rust damage on the passenger side.

Detectives captured video showing the same Yukon from surveillance cameras on the West Side of Youngstown and the area around the Nevada NW fire scene in Warren.

TRACKING CELLPHONES

Another informant told detectives that Zarlingo, Daviduk and Gurd might have been involved in the fire. The person provided cell phone numbers for Zarlingo and Daviduk, the affidavit states

After receiving search warrants from a judge, detectives received call detail records of the AT&T cellphone numbers connected to Zarlingo and Daviduk and a Verizon account for Gurd.

Using tracking software, according to the affidavit:

• Daviduk’s mobile device was tracked to the area of state Route 711 and state Route 11 about 1:12 a.m.; this was the last record of Daviduk’s device until after the fire, suggesting the device was turned off, the affidavit states;

• Between 1:12 and 1:38 a.m., AT&T records show Zarlingo’s device traveling toward 429 Nevada Ave. NW, showing it was in the area of the fatal fire at 1:35 a.m. At 1:45 a.m., Zarlingo’s device had traveled south of the home specifically in the area of Tod Avenue SW. By 1:53 a.m., Zarlingo’s and Daviduk’s devices are in the area of state Route 45 and Salt Springs Road. According to the affidavit, this is consistent with recorded video that captured the Yukon at the Speed Check gas station at 6565 Tod Ave. SW, Lordstown.

By Wednesday Altiere had obtained a search warrant for 105 Manchester Ave., Youngstown, the home of Daviduk and Zarlingo. During execution of the search, Altiere stated he found the two there with a U-Haul in the driveway.

“They were obviously planning to leave the area,” Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker told the judge during the court hearing.

THE INTERVIEW

After being arrested, the two were taken to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.

During the interview with detectives, the affidavit states Daviduk and Zarlingo admitted to going in the Yukon to the 429 Nevada address in Warren.

Zarlingo told detectives Gurd and Daviduk were “supposed to go into the house and take items.” She further stated they went there because they were going to steal items to “piss off” James Stein, who is the fiance of Rose Richards, the mother of all three young females who were in the home at the time of the fire.

Two other teen girls escaped from a second-story window as the house burned. One girl was seriously injured.

The affidavit stated Zarlingo admitted to feuding with Stein and Richards and that Zarlingo has a child with Stein.

The authorities at the news conference stated the feud only involved the adults and not the children who were victims of the fire.