Man arrested in 2004 N.J. fire that killed 3

Authorities said a Texas man has been arrested in connection with a 2004 fire that killed three people, including a young boy, in Camden.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office said Jesus Perez-Rivera, 30, of Killeen, is charged with three counts of felony murder in the deaths of the three people in the July 9 blaze on the 900 block of North 22nd Street.

Nine people were hospitalized in the house fire and three later died: Maria Silva, 29; her husband, Luis, 32; and her son, Carlos Cruz, 6.

Investigators determined that the blaze had been set.

Prosecutors described Perez-Rivera as a former Camden resident who moved to Puerto Rico shortly after the fire.

Authorities did not say whether or how he knew the family or if a motive for the fire was known.

A neighbor said after the blaze that the family had recently opened its home to several relatives. "That family had a big heart," the neighbor said.

It wasn't clear when Perez-Rivera moved to Texas or became a suspect.

Perez-Rivera, who is awaiting extradition to New Jersey, is being held at the Bell County Jail without bail, according to jail records.

Killeen police officials told news outlets there that he was taken into custody without incident this week.