Fugitive relative of convicted CA arsonist who killed firefighters accused of jury tampering

CA arsonist’s relative accused of jury tampering

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The brother-in-law of a Southern California man convicted of setting an arson wildfire that killed five federal firefighters has been charged with felony jury tampering.

The Riverside County district attorney’s office said Wednesday that a warrant had been issued for Christopher Vaughn Hillman on seven counts of jury tampering in the trial of his brother-in-law, Raymond Lee Oyler.

The 38-year-old Oyler was sentenced to death in June after being convicted of first-degree murder and arson.

The wind-pushed 2006 Esperanza Fire charred 70 square miles of terrain and destroyed 34 houses and 20 outbuildings.

The firefighters were overrun by flames while defending a hilltop home in Twin Pines, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.