Mother of 5 Children Killed in Illinois Apartment Fire Charged

The Illinois mother who lost all five of her children in an August apartment fire is now facing charges.

Per legal documents obtained by KMOV on Wednesday, Sabrina Dunigan was charged with five counts of endangering the life/health of a child. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds that per online court records, there are pending grand jury actions in the case.

On August 6, the East St. Louis Fire Department says a fire broke out in an apartment building in the 500 block of 29th Street in East St. Louis at around 3:45 a.m.

When the mother returned home after picking up another adult from work, reportedly her boyfriend, she saw the fire and tried to get her children out. Sadly, she was unsuccessful.

At the time, reports said four of the children died at the scene, while one died en route to a hospital.

Those deceased are Deontay Davis Jr., 9, twins Heaven and Nevaeh, 8, Jabari Johnson, 4, and Loyal Dunigan, 2.

"They are blameless in this. They're just kids. It's tough," East St. Louis Assist. Fire Chief George McClellan said at the time.

Though fire officials initially indicated that the children had been left home alone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the children’s grandfather, Greg Dunigan, and his wife said they lived in a separate part of the apartment and woke up to smoke.

Greg said flames forced him back and prevented him from getting to his grandchildren. He and his wife said they later jumped from the apartment’s second floor.

Sabrina and Greg previously told The Post-Dispatch that they suspect the incident started over an electrical fire and said their apartment lacked smoke detectors.

In response, the landlord said he put smoke detectors in all of his rental properties.

Per KMOV, the children were known in their community for being bright young kids who smiled hard, loved food, and would do anything for their mom.

At their funeral held at the Greater St. Marks Church of God and Christ in late August, the children were buried in custom caskets featuring their pictures as well as colorful images of ponies, butterflies, and video game scenes.

“These children were wonderful children. If you look at the caskets, each casket reflects their personal desires. The games they played with, the toys they liked, the colors they were interested in,” funeral director Walter Terry told KTVI at the time.