Missouri Mom Charged in Deaths of All Her 5 Children in Apartment Fire

A Missouri mom has been charged Wednesday in connection to the deaths of her five children in an apartment fire in August.

Sabrina Dunigan, 34, was charged with five counts of endangering the life or health of a child, a felony charge, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Dunigan's five children, Loy-el Dunigan, Jabari Johnson, Deontae Davis, and twins Heaven and Neveah Dunigan, died in the August 6 fire at her East St. Louis home. The kids were all under the age of 10.

According to Crime Online, the blaze was reported at around 3 a.m. on the second floor of the apartment building at 29th Street in East St. Louis while Dunigan was picking up her boyfriend from work.

Court documents alleged that the Missouri mom left her five kids unattended and "knowingly caused or permitted a child to be placed in circumstances that endangered the child's life or health."

A judge has set her bail at $75,000. Reports said she's not yet in custody as of Thursday. Online court records showed there are pending grand jury actions regarding the case.

Missouri Mom's Father Reacts on the Charges

Sabrina Dunigan's father, Greg Dunigan, and his wife were reportedly home at the time of the fire in the apartment. Greg told the Post-Dispatch that he could not believe that authorities would charge her daughter with a crime after everything she lost.

"Why are they trying to do this to her [Sabrina Dunigan]?" said Greg, adding that his daughter lost all she could lose already.

"Why they want to take the rest away, meaning herself? She don't have nothing left," Dunigan's father told the outlet. Greg also said he and his wife were supposed to be watching the kids, but they fell asleep.

The family of eight was reportedly living together in the one-bedroom apartment. But Greg and his wife were in a separate part of the home, near the back.

The couple reportedly escaped the blaze by jumping from the apartment's second-floor window without the children.

The Missouri mom and her father believed that it was an electrical fire. They also said the apartment lacked smoke detectors. However, the landlord disputed their claims, saying they were smoke detectors in all of his properties.

Landlord Says Missouri Mom Told Him That a Candle Started the Fire

Rudy Mcintosh, the landlord, told FOX 2 on Thursday that Sabrina Dunigan narrated that she left a candle burning, and the kids started the fire in the apartment.

"I don't know what she told the investigators, but... that's what she said to me," said Mcintosh, a retired officer of the East St. Louis Police Department.

However, the East St. Louis Fire Chief could not confirm if a candle was left burning. According to St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office spokesperson Christopher Allen, no reports on the cause of the fire will be publicized until the case is prosecuted.

The Missouri mom is charged with five felonies. Each felony count is reportedly punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: 5 Children Killed in East St. Louis Fire - From KMOV St. Louis