Woman to Stand Trial in Daughters’ Deaths

A 35-year-old woman accused of suffocating her four daughters to death in the kitchen of her Saugus home last year will stand trial on murder, attempted-murder and arson charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.

After listening to nearly two weeks of testimony, Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen found there is enough evidence against Sandi Nieves to merit a trial.

Deputy Dist. Attys. Kenneth Barshop and Beth Silverman claim that Nieves told her daughters they were having a slumber party in the kitchen, then started a fire in a converted garage that connected to the kitchen.

The girls died of smoke inhalation, although there were also some signs of natural-gas inhalation, authorities said. The oven door was open, and rags and tape covered the vents in the converted garage, a homicide detective testified during the hearing.

The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived.

The attempted-murder charge relates to Nieves’ son, David, who was also in the house on July 1, when his sisters and half-sisters, ages 5 to 12, were killed.

Nieves was in a custody battle with her former husband at the time.

Deputy Public Defender Howard Waco said he tried to present evidence that David Nieves was lying and may have been the one who started the fire, but Coen did not allow him to question the boy, his father and a psychologist about that.

The district attorney’s office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty or life in prison.