Teen sibling charged in house fire that killed 10-year-old sister, Georgia police say
UPDATE: A 15-year-old accused of setting the fire that killed their 10-year-old sister early Sunday has been charged with felony murder and malice murder, Gwinnett County police confirmed. Additional charges of first-degree arson are possible but would come from the county fire department, officials said. No further details have been released. Original story continues below.
A fire that killed a 10-year-old Georgia girl was deliberately set by one of her siblings, police and fire department officials say.
The fatal fire broke out just before 5 a.m. on Easter Sunday at a home in the 4400 block of Beaver Road in Loganville, according to Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services. Firefighters arrived to find the front of the home engulfed in flames with reports of two kids trapped inside.
The 10-year-old, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was found dead in a bedroom “without window access,” authorities said in a news release. Two cats also died in the fire.
A 15-year-old male thought to also be trapped was found safe around 9 a.m. at a different location outside the home, fire officials said.
The girl’s death is being treated as a homicide after investigators determined the fire was “set intentionally by a sibling of the deceased victim,” according to Gwinnett County police. Authorities did not provide the age or any other details about the sibling accused of setting the fire.
A total of seven people lived at the home, but only one adult and four children were inside when the fire started, according to the fire department. A family member said there were smoke alarms installed, but they didn’t go off.
The father of the 10-year-old was at work with one of his daughters when he got word that his house was on fire, according to WAGA.
“I went over to (a co-worker), and she told me I had to go home, there was a fire,” he recalled, according to the news station. “I tried to get a hold of my wife and she answered the phone and said, ’come home.’”
Authorities said the fire remains under investigation.
Loganville is about 40 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Teen sibling charged in house fire that killed 10-year-old sister, Georgia police say."