WARREN TOWNSHIP — A 73-year-old man was arrested Monday as a suspect in a fatal house fire that killed two people early Sunday.

Carroll Bruton was booked into the Trumbull County jail on murder and arson charges for the fire in the 800 block of Miller Street. Bruton was arraigned in Warren Municipal Court on Monday where Judge Patty Knepp deemed him a risk of “serious harm” and revoked his bond.

Ahead of his next hearing, a risk assessment was ordered by the court and a bond review hearing is set with a preliminary hearing set Jan. 16, court records show.

The victims of the fire were 82-year-old Roscoe Toles and 51-year-old Etianne Whitaker, according to a police report. Police said Bruton is related to the victims.

The man that called 911 was a neighbor of the victims, George Palmer, 37, who said he was sleeping on the couch when he heard what he thought, “sounded like fireworks going off” but shortly after, Palmer recalled a “big boom” that sent flames flying into his driveway.

“I saw the fire coming out the back end first and ran outside then back in to grab my phone to call 911,” Palmer said, noting that by the time he came back outside, the house was engulfed in flames.

Palmer, who has only lived next door two years, said he had to put out a small section of his roof that had caught fire as residual from the flames next door.

As the flames raged on, Palmer said several neighbors were outside calling for help but said there was little that could be done to save those trapped inside.

“It all happened so fast. The firefighters were here and all you can really do is let them do their job while you stand back and watch,” Palmer said.

Sharing in the disbelief of Sunday morning’s tragedy, the victims’ longtime neighbor, Darryl Parker, 52, said he is trying to make sense of their deaths. Parker said he’s been neighbors with the victims for decades.

He said the neighborhood has been like family and everyone was shocked to hear about the deaths of Whittaker and Toles. Like any other quiet neighborhood, Parker said the two men often sat on their porch and would wave or speak when they saw each other out.

Bruton, the man accused of intentionally starting the blaze that killed Whitaker and Toles, was a common sight for Parker in the neighborhood as well.

Oftentimes, he said he’d see the suspect walking down the street reciting bible verses.

But for Bruton to be a suspect still comes as a shock to Parker.

“He’s (Carroll Bruton) going to have to deal with how his feelings are going to be after because his mental state may have changed … to my understanding he had some mental health issues,” Parker said.

Having known him since childhood, Parker recalled Whitaker being a prominent boxer also known as “ET” who fought as a super middleweight and light heavyweight boxer.

“There’s going to be a vacant seat at the dinner table,” Parker said. “Through my faith and through knowing someone, it just hurts to know as I go down the street there will be a vacant lot or a pile of rubble until they clean it up.”