Police have charged a 13-year-old boy with manslaughter after a man died in a fire at a shopping centre on the Central Coast earlier in the year.
Financial Crimes Squad Arson Unit coordinator Detective Chief Inspector Richard Puffett told reporters on Monday that police would be alleging the boy deliberately lit the fire, saying a piece of furniture was a source of the blaze.
Emergency services responded to a fire at Ebbtide Mall shopping centre at The Entrance during the afternoon of Sunday, October 20.
Firefighters found a 69-year-old man inside a shop in the building. They dragged him out, however, first responders were unable to revive him.
Detectives from the Financial Crimes Squad's Arson Unit and Tuggerah Lakes Police District established Strike Force Zorianna to investigate the blaze.
The strike force detectives arrested a 13-year-old boy at Wyong Police Station on Monday morning. Police charged the teenager with manslaughter and he was refused bail to appear at a children's court on Monday.
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