WESLACO - A Mercedes man is in jail for a setting a deadly house fire that killed a Weslaco woman and her 12-year-old son.
Mario Salinas Jr. is being held at the Hidalgo County jail on a $2.5 million bond. A judge charged him with two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted capital murder.
Melva Martinez was able to help her 7-year-old son escape the fire. The 46-year-old and her other son, 12-year-old AJ, couldn't get out of the home. The two victims were found dead in a bedroom.
The court documents state, "Mr. Salinas was upset... for being kicked out of the residence approximately ten days before the fire. Mr. Salinas never denied going into the residence and starting the fire. During the interview Mr. Salinas was very nervous and kept moving his hands and looking down when asked about the fire."
The fire happened on the 1200 block of Valley View exactly a month ago.
Police claim Salinas saw his ex-girlfriend out at the Paradise nightclub the night of the fire. According to the affidavit, Salinas phoned in a fake loud music complaint about the family to Weslaco police minutes before the fire.
Witnesses saw his car in the area as well.
While in court, Salinas said nothing to our cameras. CHANNEL 5 NEWS will have the victims' family reaction to his arrest tonight on CHANNEL 5 at 6.
