Man charged with murder and arson after western Maine house fire

Maine State Police have arrested a man in connection with a house fire in the western Maine town of Mexico on Sept. 26 where a woman was found dead.

Elijah Cowper, 23, of Mexico was arrested on Friday and charged with arson and murder. He was already being held at the York County Jail on an unrelated charge, according to state police.

On Sept. 26, the Oxford County emergency dispatch center received a 911 call at about 7:09 a.m. reporting a fire at 5 Tucker St. in Mexico.

First responders arrived at the home while the fire was still burning, primarily in the area of the front porch, and used a ladder to rescue a woman from the house. She was uninjured, according to police.

After the fire was extinguished, firefighters found the body of another woman, later identified as Lacey Tidswell, 23, of Mexico in the house.

Police have not released her cause of death.