The Associated Press
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A house fire killed four children, their mother and grandmother early Wednesday, officials said, and authorities arrested an 18-year-old man in the blaze hours later.
Michael Davis, of Youngstown, was charged with six counts of aggravated murder and six counts of aggravated arson, city police said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Davis had an attorney or whether he knew the victims.
The fire killed 46-year-old Carol Crawford, her 23-year-old daughter, Jennifer and Jennifer Crawford’s daughters Raneija, 8; Jeannine, 5; Aleisha, 3; and 2-year-old son Brandon, said Rick Jamrozik, an investigator with the Mahoning County Coroner’s office.
The blaze started near the front of the house, either on the porch or just inside the front door, and quickly consumed the home, Fire Chief John O’Neill said.
Next-door neighbor Brenda Brown said that by the time firefighters arrived, the fire was too intense for them to get inside.
“They put on their oxygen, they tried to get in, they come right back out. ...,” she said. “So, they just kind of let it burn a minute. They didn’t really have very much choice.”
Police Detective Sgt. Patrick Kelly said it looked as if some kind of accelerant had been used to start the fire on the porch. Homicide detectives and an arson team with dogs focused on the area around the porch.
As many as five other people were in the home when the fire started just before 5:30 a.m, O’Neill said.
Three people were being treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center, hospital spokeswoman Tina Creighton said. She said she could not release their identities.
Brown gestured to a hobby horse on its side in her front yard and said it belonged to the neighbor children. She was used to seeing them playing on it.
“They were beautiful little kids, and it’s really sad,” she said.
The Associated Press