Pregnant Mom and Her Small Children Die in House Fire

Two people have been arrested in connection with a horrific arson fire that killed a pregnant mother and her two young children in Philadelphia earlier this month.

Charles Sumpter, 67, and Fleitte Newell, 44, were taken into custody on June 25 and charged with multiple counts of murder and related offenses following the deaths of 31-year-old Ashley Thompson and her children, 6-year-old Assad Thompson and 4-year-old Alaya Thompson-Newell, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

The fire broke out around 5 a.m. on June 13 at a rowhouse in the 2500 block of North Corlies Street in the city’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. When first responders arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames. Thompson was discovered dead on the second floor, and her two children later died at the hospital from their injuries.

A third child and a 54-year-old woman—later identified as Sherry Jackson—managed to escape the blaze. Jackson is the sister of suspect Fleitte Newell, according to NBC 10. She told reporters that she had been in a long-running dispute with Newell over the house and that her sister had previously threatened to set it on fire with her inside. Jackson said she had reported the threat, but nothing was done.

Both Newell and Sumpter were reportedly questioned on the day of the fire but weren’t arrested until nearly two weeks later, when warrants were issued. Police have not released further details on what led to their arrests.

The tragedy has shaken the local community, especially with reports that Ashley Thompson was seven months pregnant at the time of her death. A GoFundMe page describes her as “a loving mother, daughter, and friend” whose children were “her joy, her purpose, and the light of so many lives around them.”

The investigation remains ongoing as the victims’ loved ones grieve the devastating loss.