Police release update on investigation into 2024 deaths of woman, baby in Wallingford

Wallingford police said they believe that a man suspected of killing a woman and baby in a Wallingford apartment last year killed them days before setting the fire to their home, which ultimately led to his own death.

Police have closed the investigation into the deaths, but parts of the investigation remain open, they said on Wednesday.

It was 6 p.m. on the night of April 17 that firefighters and police responded to a fire at 25 Geneva Ave. in Wallingford and they found a 19-year-old woman and a 9-month-old baby dead inside the home.

A man, Justin Varnado, was walking out of the house and had severe burns, police said. He was flown to Bridgeport Hospital, where he died.

Police said they believed that the woman, 19-year-old Karizmah Johnson, and the baby, 9-month-old Kylenn (Jasir) Varnado, had died before the fire.

Police said that autopsies on Johnson and the baby revealed their cause of death was ruled as homicidal asphyxia and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined they were killed between two and seven days before the fire, police said.

Days before the fire, on March 25, Wallingford Police had arrested Justin Varnado and charged him with breach of peace in the second degree and risk of injury to a minor. He was held on a $5,000 bond and taken to be arraigned in Meriden.

Police said that an active order of protection was in place, barring Varnado from being at the residence and the state Department of Children and Families was notified.

Police had escorted him to a property removal at the address on March 25 and explained that he was not allowed at the residence moving forward due to the protection order in place and the penalty for violation would be a felony arrest, police said.

The next time the Wallingford Police Department was called to the address was the day of the fire on April 17.

While investigating the case, police found a red gas can inside the apartment that Justin Varnado was seen filling up at a gas station nearby on April 17, police said.

A witness who had spoken with Justin Varnado several days before the fire told police that he was distraught and suicidal, police said.

The witness also told investigators that in the days leading up to the fire, they smelled a strong odor coming from the second-floor apartment where Johnson, the baby and Justin Varnado lived and they had not seen Johnson or the baby for nearly a week before the fire, according to police.

Police said investigators determined that Justin Varnado tried to light himself on fire in the apartment on April 17.

Officials said they found sufficient evidence to believe that Justin Varnado had killed the baby and Johnson in the days leading up to the fire, then set himself and the house on fire, ultimately leading to his death.

Police said some aspects of this investigation remain open and the Wallingford Police Detective Division is investigating with assistance from New Haven State’s Attorney Office and the Connecticut State Police.