INFERNO: Wei Chu Wu, in custody yesterday, allegedly set this fire that killed a SoHo neighbor. (William Farrington)
The deadly SoHo fire that claimed the life of a newlywed woman was sparked by a jealous dad convinced his wife was sleeping with another man, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.
Wei Chu Wu “was pissed at his wife,” 41-year-old Yane He Zheng, a source said. “[He] thought she was cheating.”
Sources and neighbors said the woman horrifically burned to death in Thursday’s inferno at 41 Spring St. was Lea Spivack, the new bride of longtime building resident Jim Spivack.
Lea Spivack died as Wu, 45, allegedly attacked NYPD Officer Paul Rao and a firefighter outside the building — preventing them from saving trapped residents.
Wu was charged yesterday with murder, arson, attempted assault of a police officer and resisting arrest, police said.
He confessed to igniting the killer fire, sources said.
“I burned a building,” Wu told investigators through a translator, according to sources.
The unemployed Wu “showed no remorse for the fire,” a source said.
The accused arsonist told cops he had argued with his wife, Zheng, over her alleged infidelity, and struck her, sources said.
He also allegedly menaced her with a knife, cutting her hand, before Zheng fled their second-floor apartment with their 13-year-old son, sources added.
Wu then used a lighter to set two beds afire — and told the family’s roommate Ying Eng, 72, “We’re all gonna die!” according to sources.
Wu then went outside and stood looking “nonchalant” in front of the building as it became engulfed in flames, said eyewitness Wai Kong.
“I didn’t know he caused the fire. He was just standing there [looking] normal,” said Kong.
As nearly 200 firefighters rushed to the scene, Lea Spivack’s husband, grocery bag in hand, desperately raced around on the street below trying to find her, neighbors said.
“Lea! Lea!” the 66-year-old Spivack frantically screamed, neighbors said.
“He was running around like a chicken without a head,” recalled neighbor Gina Cecala, 81. “I said, ‘Jim did you find her?’ He said, ‘Yes, she is dead.’
“He was crying uncontrollably. He married her recently.”
A body believed to be that of Lea’s later was found on the third-floor fire escape — but was so badly charred it had not been positively identified as of last night.
Rao, the cop Wu allegedly attacked, returned to his Long Island home yesterday, his broken arm in a cast.
“I just feel bad for the families,” said Rao. “I’m feeling good. I’m doing well.”
Additional reporting by Kieran Crowley