A man charged in connection with a decades-old fatal fire in Concord waived his right to a probable cause hearing Tuesday.
The first-degree murder case against Richard Ellison, 45, is on its way to Merrimack County Superior Court, which has jurisdiction over felony-level charges. A county grand jury has up to 90 days to indict Ellison who is accused of causing the death of Robert McMillan on Dec. 9, 2005, at McMillanโs duplex on North State Street near the state prison.
Police arrested Ellison on Oct. 12 while he was still in custody at the Strafford County jail in Dover on unrelated charges.
In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Ellison also faces an alternative count of reckless second-degree murder.
McMillan was 84 years old in late 2005 when a fire destroyed his duplex at 282-284 N. State St.
McMillan couldnโt get around on his own and his live-in caretaker was out the night of the fire. Although firefighters were able to pull McMillan to safety, he later died at a Massachusetts hospital. An autopsy found that he died of โthermal injury,โ or injury from heat, according to Monitor reports at the time.
Authorities soon classified the blaze as arson and McMillanโs death a homicide. For years, no one was charged with the crime, and the attorney generalโs office, which led the investigation, would not comment on the existence of any suspects.