What started as a fire investigation turned into a murder investigation and arrest this week.

Tuesday, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Herbert Wood Heath Jr., of Cherry Run Road, Washington, and charged him with an open count of murder in the death of his mother, Mildred Hawkins Heath.

Herbert Health Jr. and Mildred Heath shared the Cherry Run Road residence, a doublewide mobile home that was fully engulfed in fire when emergency responders arrived at the location.

In the early hours of Aug. 16, Heath’s neighbors called 911 to report a fire at the house next door. Clarks Neck and Old Ford volunteer fire departments, Washington’s EMS squad and sheriff’s office deputies responded and learned that a female resident was still inside the structure, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

When firefighters arrived, Herbert Heath Jr. was in the yard, according to Maj. Kenneth Watson, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

While the official report on the fire has not been issued by the State Bureau of Investigation, nor has the official autopsy report been released from the state Medical Examiner’s office, Watson said arson could not be ruled out and that Mildred Heath did not die as a result of injuries from the fire.

“Autopsy revealed that she was deceased before the fire,” Watson said. “The autopsy also revealed injuries consistent with assault.”

Watson said it was information provided by Herbert Heath Jr. during the investigation that led to his arrest at the Days Inn Motel, where Heath was staying after the fire.

Heath has had run-ins with the sheriff’s office before, according to Watson: the sheriff’s office had served child support papers on Heath in the past and he was reported to be a suspect in a prior assault. The victim of that prior assault was Mildred Heath, Watson said.

Watson said additional charges against Heath are expected to come from the ongoing investigation.

“We’re looking at the possibility of an arson-related charge, as well. … We expect to receive information from the SBI agents processing the scene, as well as the Medical Examiner’s office,” Watson said.

Mildred Heath was a Washington native who had returned home to Beaufort County after many years of living in Greenville, according to her obituary.