A 50 year old Cherokee County man, Aaron Lee Rochester, is now facing a charge of Capital Murder.

Rochester had been charged with Attempted Murder and Arson 1st Degree, in the wake of a house fire taking place Friday, May 13th on County Road 131 located in Cedar Bluff.  At that time, he shared the home with 50 year old Donna Marable and according to the information contained in a news release Thursday morning (May 19th) from Josh Summerford the Chief Investigator for the Cherokee County Major Crimes Unit, evidence has indicated that a brief argument took place between the two, leading to Rochester assaulting the victim.

It is also believed, the suspect set fire to the house – leaving the victim inside – and then fled the scene.  Cherokee EMS transported Marable to the Cedar Bluff football field, and she was flown from there to the burn unit at Grady Medical Center in Atlanta.   

Investigators found Rochester two days later, on Sunday, May 15th – and placed him under arrest.  Marable succumbed to her injuries while still hospitalized on Wednesday, May 18th – which led to the charge against Rochester being upgraded from attempted murder, to that of Capital Murder; he remains in the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash bond for the charge of Arson 1st Degree, and he awaits a bond hearing on the new charge of Capital Murder.

The investigation, which is on-going is being led by the Cherokee County Major Crimes Unit with assistance from the State Fire Marshal’s Office and JSU center for Applied Forensics.