On Thursday, Jan. 25 into Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, police attended an apartment building in the area of 107 Street and 79 Avenue to assist provincial bailiffs in carrying out a Court order against Jason Zabos who had barricaded himself in his suite.

While police were on scene, a fire broke out in the suite where the man lived, and the building had to be evacuated. Jason Zabos was taken into custody at approximately 12:48 a.m. Several evacuees were taken to the hospital, and have since recovered from their physical injuries.

Jason Zabos, 44, was subsequently charged with arson disregard for human life, mischief, obstruct peace officer and a breach of a court order, and was released on a Release Order by a Justice of the Peace.

On April 10th, 2024, police received a missing person report for Ricardo Olivares, 70. His family had not heard from him since January 5th, 2024, and reported him missing after finding out the apartment building where he lived had burned down. 

On April 22nd, 2024, the EPS Missing Persons Unit, with the assistance of EFRS and EPS Canine Unit, conducted a further search of the building wreckage and discovered Olivares’ remains.

On April 24th, 2024, the Edmonton Medical Examiner completed an autopsy and determined Olivares died as a result of smoke inhalation. The manner of death is homicide.

On May 3rd, 2024, Zabos was scheduled to attend court, where he was arrested in relation to Olivares’ death. A charge of manslaughter and a second charge of arson disregard for human life are pending.