By Kristine Harrington
Phoenix, AZ (KTVK/CNN) - A man convicted of setting his Arizona mansion on fire, collapses and dies moments after the guilty verdict.
Police believe Michael Marin put something in his mouth after the verdict was read.
Michael Marin, banker, art collector, adventurer, and one time multi-millionaire and now also remembered as an arsonist.
The man who lived life large with original Picasso sketches lining his walls in his multi-million dollar Biltmore mansion, is the same man who in May 2009 Skyped with Three-TV as he scaled Mount Everest.
It was a very dangerous climb to the top that nearly cost him his life, and just a few months later his home went up in flames, and again he was thankful, this time for the grace of his scuba gear.
"I had some air left in that tank, and that's what enabled me to get back to the window. And pull that ladder. If I hadn't had those two things. We wouldn't be talking," said Marin.
But the tank and the ladder made firefighters suspicious.
"In my years on the job it was the first time I've seen someone use scuba diving equipment to get out of a fire," said a firefighter.
One month later Marin was charged with arson, accused of torching his home because he couldn't pay his mortgage.
Three years later, a guilty verdict, and a shocking reaction.
Deputies say it appears he took something in court, collapsed and moments later, died.
KTVK/CNN