Mom kills young daughter and sets ‘catastrophic’ fire to hide the crime, GA cops say
A mom killed one of her young daughters and then set a “catastrophic” fire to hide the crime, Georgia officials said.
The 4-year-old girl’s twin sister was left in the burning apartment before she was rescued on Nov. 23, according to the East Point Fire Department.
Now, the twins’ mom is facing several charges, including murder. Officials in a news release didn’t list attorney information for the woman, identified as 27-year-old Nicole Ashley Jackson.
Atlanta-area officials were called to the fire the day before Thanksgiving. While responding to Washington Road, crews saw “heavy smoke and fire” coming from an apartment building, Fire Chief Corey Thornton said, according to video from a Nov. 28 news conference.
“Our suspicion was heightened that foul play was involved due to the acceleration of the fire,” Thornton said, according to WXIA. “We know the suspect used some type of unknown accelerant, which explains why the fire spread so quickly.”
After firefighters started putting out the blaze, they found a 4-year-old dead in a bedroom. Neighbor Ricardo Tolbert told WAGA he broke through glass to bring the girl’s twin sister to safety.
“I pulled the baby out and when the fresh air hit her, her eyes opened, and she wrapped around my neck,” he told the TV station.
Jackson, who wasn’t found until the following day, told officers that one of her kids was “already deceased, and she started the fire to conceal the crime,” Police Chief Shawn Buchanan said during the news conference.
Jackson was arrested and charged with murder, felony murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and cruelty to children. She also was expected to face an arson charge, officials said.
She was taken to the Fulton County Jail and could be in court in about two to three weeks. An investigation is ongoing.
The surviving twin was burned and is with her grandmother, according to officials.
East Point is about 8 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.
10-year-old boy and his grandfather die when home catches fire, Georgia deputies say
14-year-old arrested after massive fire tears through Walmart in Georgia, police say
