Man killed in Seminole Heights home fire identified as partner of murder victim found dead in 2017
SEMINOLE HEIGHTS, Fla. - Neighbors have identified the man found dead in last week’s house fire in the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood as Dan Kane, a counselor whose partner was murdered in the same neighborhood back in 2017.
It happened at 11:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Crenshaw Street on September 18. Tampa police said officers that arrived at the scene "assisted subjects from the home, at which point one victim was located and pronounced deceased."
"We came outside, grabbed the hose to try to help. We couldn't really help, because the fire was so big at that point," Meagan Berkstresser, who lives nearby, said.
Berkstresser said she called 911.
"The size of the flames, I mean, it was coming out of the windows, like roaring out of all of the windows," Berkstresser said.
Crews have since demolished the fire-damaged home that neighbors told FOX 13 was owned by Kane.
"The man who lived there was an older gentleman, who helped people that were maybe down on their luck or just getting out of a bad situation get back on their feet," Berkstresser said. "So there were a lot of people that were in and out of the house, but the homeowner, Dan, was a really good guy. May he rest in peace."
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FOX 13 interviewed Kane a few years ago after sadly, his partner, Bill Denham, was murdered. In 2017, Denham was walking back to their Crenshaw Street home from the grocery store when he was beaten to death by complete strangers.
Tampa police later arrested Jadian Zeiders, who, as part of her guilty plea, confessed in a letter that she told her boyfriend that Denham had exposed himself to her. However, she admitted that was all a lie that she made up to hide her affair from her boyfriend.
Zeiders and her boyfriend were charged in Denham's murder.
"He was a 53-year-old social worker. He was a kind, caring human being," Kane told FOX 13 in a 2019 interview about his partner.
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"Bill was also a great guy. They were both very similar. Always wanting to help," Berkstresser, who has lived in her Crenshaw Street home for 12 years, said. "It was just really unfortunate that they both had the endings that they had."
Tampa police confirmed one person was detained on scene in connection to the September 18 fire. In a written statement Monday, a spokesperson said, "Since the investigation is still open and active, we do not have any updates available for release at this time."
"Now we're just kind of waiting. But we're definitely curious as to what the next steps are going to be and making sure that justice is done for Dan," Berkstresser said.