Victim of fatal Burton blaze identified; investigators call fire ‘suspicious’

A fire that killed a woman and consumed a Burton mobile home Monday is being called “suspicious” by investigators.

Doreen Joy Varga, 53, was killed in the fire, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Arson Team and the Burton Fire District were on scene Tuesday morning and investigating the fire that started around 10:30 p.m. on Monday in The Bay Mobile Home Park, according to a separate Sheriff’s Office news release.

Varga was pronounced dead after she was removed from the 327 Shanklin Road fire and transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, according to the release. A forensic autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday at Medical University of South Carolina.

Both the fire and the cause and manner of the victim’s death have been deemed “suspicious,” according to the release. The death is under criminal investigation by the Sheriff’s Office while the cause of the fire is under SLED investigation.

When asked if anything was stolen from the home, if an accelerant was used, if there signs of struggle or trauma to the victim’s body or if there was any indication anyone else was inside the home at the time of the fire, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage would say only that the incident is still under investigation.

The fire district was assisted in fighting the blaze by personnel from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

Anyone with information can contact Staff Sgt. Adam Zsamar at 843-255-3408 or call CrimeStoppers anonymously at 1-888-CrimeSC.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 9:11 AM with the headline "Victim of fatal Burton blaze identified; investigators call fire ‘suspicious’."