Prosecutors say a Valentine's Day fire at a Cicero apartment building that killed seven people (including four teenagers and two young children) was intentional, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Landlord Lawrence Myers has been charged with seven counts of murder and two counts of arson.
The building's maintenance man, Andre Comier, allegedly did Mr. Myers's dirty work and was also charged with multiple counts of murder and arson.
Prosecutors say Mr. Myers had a motive to collect on the $250,000 insurance policy and was secretly recorded after the blaze saying, "I told [Mr. Comier] not to hurt anybody." Unfortunately things didn't go according their alleged plan.
Allison Gist, who lost three children and two grandchildren in the incident, was stunned to learn that Mr. Comier was charged:
"I couldn't believe that. Andre always treated me nice. How could he turn around and do this?"
Cook County Asst. State's Attorney Mary Lacy told reporters that three witnesses talked to investigators after claiming to have heard Mr. Myers and Mr. Comier talking about the alleged arson plot. Secretly recorded conversations depict a distraught Mr. Myers, upset that the fire took a deadly turn:
"I told him to do it in the afternoon before the kids came home from school."
Prosecutors say Mr. Comier doused a couch in a vacant first-floor apartment with a mixture gasoline and oil. Mr. Comier called Mr. Myers just minutes after the fire started, according to cell phone records cited by reporters.
All of the deaths occurred in a single, small apartment unit that housed a total of 12 people.
Mr. Myers's counsel, Chicago criminal attorney Roger Warner, was quoted as saying, "We are looking forward to going to trial."
Related Resources:
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Arson (LawBrain)
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Prosecutors: Landlord Complained Fatal Fire Set 'At Wrong Time' (Chicago Tribune)
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