Investigators say Robert Shane Zimmerman became upset after a woman rejected him and set items on fire inside a shared Bratton Avenue home.

LEWISTOWN, Pa. — A 44-year-old woman died and two other residents were badly hurt after a late-night house fire that police say was set by a man angered by a rejected romantic advance.

The death of Brandy Phillippe turned a Bratton Avenue fire into a homicide investigation in Mifflin County. Police identified Robert Shane Zimmerman, 40, of Lewistown, as the suspect after witnesses placed him at the home shortly before flames spread through the building. Authorities said the house had been sublet to several people, raising the danger when the fire broke out close to midnight.

Emergency crews were called to 208 Bratton Avenue at 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, after reports of a residential fire with people trapped inside. Police said arriving officers were met by witnesses who said the blaze had been set on purpose. The fire had already moved through parts of the first floor, cutting off escape routes for some of the people inside. Mifflin County Coroner Andrea Alcalde said Phillippe tried to get out but could not escape. “She was pronounced dead at the scene,” the coroner’s office said in a statement. Firefighters and police worked around heavy smoke, flames and reports that more residents were still inside the structure.

The first calls brought officers to a chaotic scene where survivors were trying to flee from upper floors. Police said one man jumped from a second-story window and suffered major injuries to his face. Investigators said he also had suspected internal burns to his throat and was flown to a burn trauma center. Officers then made contact with a woman hanging from another second-floor window. Flames were coming from several windows, but police said the woman refused to jump. Investigators believe she lost consciousness from smoke inhalation and fell onto the concrete sidewalk below. She was seriously injured and also flown to a trauma center. Their names were not released in the initial reports.

Witness accounts soon turned the emergency response into a criminal investigation. Police said several people told officers that Zimmerman had been at the home shortly before the fire started and had expressed romantic interest in a woman who lived there. Investigators said witnesses reported that Zimmerman became upset after the woman rejected him. According to police, he then began setting items on fire on the first floor. Witnesses also told investigators they heard Zimmerman admit to starting the blaze and saw him watching the home burn from an alley nearby. Police said surveillance images appeared to support those witness statements, though investigators did not release the footage publicly.

The Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal later ruled the fire an arson. That finding, combined with Phillippe’s death, led the coroner’s office to investigate the case as a homicide. The autopsy was scheduled at Mount Nittany Medical Center to determine Phillippe’s exact cause of death. Officials said the preliminary finding was clear enough to show she had tried to flee during the fire but was unable to make it out. The coroner’s office extended condolences to Phillippe’s family, friends and others affected by the fire. At the same time, police continued gathering statements from residents, neighbors and emergency responders who were at the scene.

Detectives with the Lewistown Police Department, assisted by Mifflin County Regional Police, later found Zimmerman at a boarding house on East Third Street. Officers said he smelled of ash and smoke when he was taken into custody. Police said Zimmerman was first detained on an outstanding warrant, then told officers he had ingested fentanyl. Officers said he showed signs of an opioid overdose and was taken to Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital for treatment. After hospital staff cleared him several hours later, he was taken to the police department for questioning. Police said Zimmerman made several incriminating statements about the fire during the interview.

Zimmerman told police he could not recall the exact moment the fire started, investigators said, but he was able to describe events before and after the blaze began. The department said he had “a strong emotional response” when officers told him that an occupant had died. Police said Zimmerman was lodged in the Mifflin County Correctional Facility on the outstanding warrant and a state parole detainer. Authorities said arson-related charges were filed or expected in connection with the fire, Phillippe’s death and the injuries to the two surviving residents. Court records cited by local reports described the case as ongoing.

The Bratton Avenue home sat in a borough where many residents know the streets, houses and emergency responders by sight. Witnesses described seeing orange flames from the kitchen area and hearing people outside shout for someone to jump. The fire also killed cats that lived near the property, according to reports from the scene, adding another sign of the damage left behind in the small neighborhood. Police did not say whether the woman who rejected Zimmerman was among those injured. They also did not release a full list of all people inside the house when the fire began.

The investigation now rests on fire findings, witness statements, surveillance images and Zimmerman’s reported statements to police. Officials said the next steps include completing the autopsy findings, documenting the injuries to the surviving residents and moving the criminal case through Mifflin County court. Zimmerman remained in custody as authorities prepared the case tied to the fatal fire.

Author note: Last updated June 1, 2026.