ARLINGTON — Although one woman was found dead in a recent house fire in Arlington, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner has ruled her death a homicide by strangling that occurred sometime before the fire itself.

On Wednesday, Feb. 15, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Arlington fire crews were dispatched to a residential fire in the 18600 block of Silverleaf Place NE. Within 15 minutes of their arrival, firefighters had extinguished a fire which was confined to the front living room area of the home. Additional units from Arlington Rural Fire District 21, Silvana Fire District 19 and the Marysville Fire District also responded to the fire.

During a walk-through of the living room area, firefighters discovered the body of a 54-year-old woman on the floor. Arlington police officers responded to the location to begin an initial death investigation, and the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office took custody of the victim’s body to conduct an autopsy on Thursday, Feb. 16.

Since it appeared the fire was set to cover up the homicide, Arlington police officers requested the assistance of detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit to continue the investigation. A 22-year-old male suspect was arrested at approximately 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, as part of the investigation. The suspect had rented a room at the Arlington house and was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on charges of murder in the second degree and arson in the first degree.