Sabrina Dunigan of East St. Louis, Missouri, tragically lost her five young children in an apartment fire this past August while the 34-year-old was reportedly out giving someone a ride from work. This Wednesday, Nov. 2, the mother was charged by prosecutors with multiple felony counts of “endangering the life of a child resulting in death,” KSDK reported, which could lead to serious prison time.
Four of Dunigan’s children were pronounced dead at the East St. Louis apartment complex, while a fifth child was transported to a local hospital but also lost their lives, according to KSDK. The victims reportedly included Dontae, 9, 8-year-old twin girls Neveah and Heaven, 4-year-old Jabari and Loy’El, only 20-months-old.
The fatal apartment fire started shortly after 3 AM on Aug. 9. According to KSDK, East St. Louis Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief George McClellan claimed that Dunigan was away from the apartment when the fire broke out, reportedly offering someone a ride from their workplace at the time. A specific cause for the fire has yet to be determined.
The fire department official also added that Dunigan attempted to save her kids from the apartment once she arrived on the scene. Unfortunately, she wasn’t successful.
As News Onyx previously reported, Dunigan and her children had lived in the apartment for five months and had an unfortunate history with fire, having lost their former home in one. Dunigan reportedly told investigators that her boyfriend may have started the 2019 flames, KSDK reported.
According to Law Server, child endangerment charges in the state of Missouri are considered a class A felony if the offense results in the death of a child. Dunigan could now be looking at 10-30 years in prison or even life imprisonment if convicted on the felony charge.
