San Gregorio man denied bail in fire that killed his sons

The San Gregorio father charged with murdering his two young sons by setting fire to their home has been denied bail. The judge sat that the circumstantial evidence is compelling and experts believe the fire was deliberately set reports the Daily Journal.

The experts also told the criminal grand jury Charles Schuttloffel Sr. had methamphetamine in his system that "may have affected his judgment" at the time of the fatal blaze, he and his wife argued that morning and discussed the possibility of divorce and the couple’s two children could not have set the fire, Judge Barbara Mallach said.

Mallach’s comments prior to denying Schuttloffel bail were a rare peek into the grand jury transcript on which his murder indictment is based and which have been temporarily sealed for months.