Man sentenced for starting fire that resulted in death

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A Tulsa man has been sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole for starting a fire that resulted in a 5-year-old child’s death.

District Judge William LaFortune sentenced 36-year-old Steven Lewis Clement to life without parole for first-degree murder during the commission of arson.

Clement pleaded guilty Sept. 1.

Clement was living at his girlfriend’s house with her four children, when the house caught fire last year.

The children’s mother was driving back from Kansas, when she received calls and texts from Clement threatening to burn down the house.

The children testified they awoke to the smell of smoke after midnight and escaped the home. They testified Clement was outside but made no efforts to help them or their youngest brother escape