NATION : Mother, Man Held in Fire Deaths
A mother and her boyfriend were arrested on charges of neglect today after a smoky house fire that killed four of the woman’s children and critically injured two others, authorities said.
An investigator said the fire may have been caused by children playing with matches.
The fire broke out before 10 p.m. Thursday, trapping six of seven siblings left alone in their two-story downtown home, said police spokesman Lt. Roosevelt Harrell.
An 11-year-old girl was helped to safety from a second-story window by a neighbor, Harrell said.
Four girls--Lashandra Moore, 5; Alexis Moses, 6; Jocelyn Moses, 8, and Daphne Moses, 9--died. Two brothers, Antonio Moore, 3, and Justine Moses, 2, were hospitalized in critical condition.
The 26-year-old mother of the victims, whose name was not made public, was arrested on suspicion of neglect of children leading to death, Harrell said. The woman’s 43-year-old boyfriend also was arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
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