East St. Louis mother charged in connection with fire that killed her five children

An East St Louis mother is being criminally charged for the deaths of her five children in an apartment fire in August, according to online court records obtained by St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Sabrina M. Dunigan, 34, was charged with five counts of endangering the life or health of a child, a felony charge. A judge set bail at $75,000.

East St Louis fire

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.

According to reports, four of the children died at the scene, while one died en route to a local hospital.

The victims have been identified as 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.

A cause of the fire has not been revealed.

Though fire officials initially indicated that the children had been left home alone, The St. Louis Post Dispatch 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 reporters 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.

Greg Dunigan was shocked that authorities would charge his daughter with a crime after she already suffered the loss of all her children.

“Why are they trying to do this to her?” he told the newspaper. “She done lost all she can lose already. Why they want to take the rest away, meaning herself? She don’t have nothing left.”

Beautiful children

The children are sorely missed. They were known in their East St Louis community for being bright young kids with infectious smiles, loved food, and would do anything for their mom.

Funeral

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.

“If you look at the casket, it’s really a glimpse of their young lives,” he added.