TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Prosecutors dropped the death penalty as an option for sentencing for a man accused of setting a fire that killed two Toledo firefighters.
Ray Abou-Arab appeared in court Thursday for a pretrial hearing.
The families of the two firefighters killed in the 2014 blaze gave the prosecutors their blessing to drop the death penalty charges.
If the state gets a guilty verdict on the remaining aggravated arson and murder charges, Abou-Arab would more than likely be sentenced to life in prison. Though he would be eligible for parole, that would not come for many years.
Jury selection for the trial is expected to begin Monday.
The trial is expected to begin April 3. That could last about a month.
