Pair Charged In 'Revenge' Firebombing That Killed Ex-Boyfriend, His New Girlfriend
DETROIT (WWJ) - Two people have been charged in a fatal house fire on Detroit's east side that investigators say was intentionally sparked by a scorned ex-lover.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says 24-year-old Mariah Thomas and 28-year-old Jebrie Cross are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on multiple counts of felony murder, arson and assault with intent to murder.
The fire broke out Monday morning at a home on Hoyt and Manning, in a northeast neighborhood near State Fair and Gratiot Avenue, killing 23-year-old James Jordan and 20-year-old Jana John. John's 22-year-old brother was also seriously injured in the fire, but survived.
According to Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Thomas had "an altercation" with Jordan, her former boyfriend, at the home around 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 13. The next morning around 2:30, it's alleged that Thomas and Cross returned to the home and threw bottles containing a flammable substance at the house, setting it on fire.
"The allegations in this case are becoming all too common," Worthy said in a statement. "Have we really come to the place where if someone rejects another person, the result is to seek revenge by burning a home with occupants in it?"
Reports say Thomas is the mother of one of Jordan's children, although that information has not been confirmed by authorities.
An investigation is ongoing.
