Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz has announced that the mother of three children killed in a house fire in March will be facing criminal charges.

Erie Police Department have arrested Danozjna Shalita Marjie Williams in connection to the fire that broke out in her apartment on March 29. The fire, which was reported shortly before 4:30 pm that Sunday, claimed the lives of three children who were inside at the time. Williams is charged with third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person. 

Search warrants revealed evidence that Williams had left her children at the home unsupervised when the fire broke out. Police are alleging that Williams was gone for approximately 50 minutes to facilitate a drug transaction.

A preliminary arraignment was held on May 8th, where Williams was denied bail. 

District Attorney Hirz stated “This is a heartbreaking, but completely preventable tragedy. The evidence shows these young children were left without supervision in a situation where they needed their mother to protect them and keep them safe. That duty was abandoned, with devastating consequences.” 

All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.