PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- The owner of a Portland, Maine, apartment house where six people died in a fire has been indicted on six counts of manslaughter.
The district attorney announced charges Friday against Gregory Nisbet stemming from the November 1 fire. Plea negotiations broke down days earlier.
Nisbet did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment about the charges.
Investigators found the cause of the fire to be accidental.
They found that the house didn't have functioning smoke detectors and said they believed Nisbet operated the property as an illegal boarding house. A lawsuit against him alleged an emergency exit was impassable.
The fire started hours after a Halloween party in the home. The families of four of the six young people who died have sued Nisbet.
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