Woman Charged in Fire That Killed 2 Daughters

A South Los Angeles woman was charged Wednesday with felony child endangerment for leaving her three small children alone in a barred and locked apartment that caught fire and became a death trap for two of the youngsters

Brigette Barkus, 31, was named in a three-count complaint filed by the district attorney’s office.

Cherise Jackson, 4, and 2-year-old Carla Barkus died of smoke inhalation. Cherise’s 3-year-old brother, Christopher Jackson, was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive.

Barkus allegedly had left the apartment on West 90th Street at least 30 minutes before the fire broke out Sunday evening, investigators said.

Cause of the fire was under investigation. Authorities speculated that it might have been started by the children playing with matches. Prosecutors initially considered filing murder charges based on allegations that Barkus knew one of them played with matches.