Pennsylvania House Fire Kills 3 Children as Mattress Blocks Exit; Police Say Mom Was Allegedly Gone for 50 Minutes

A Pennsylvania mother whose three children died in a house fire in March is now facing criminal charges after investigators alleged she left them home unsupervised for nearly 50 minutes before the fire broke out.

Danozjna Shalita Marjie Williams was arrested in connection with the March 29 fire at her apartment in Erie. According to the Erie Police Department, the fire was reported shortly before 4:30 p.m. and claimed the lives of the three children trapped inside the residence.

Firefighters reportedly struggled to enter the apartment because a mattress and couch were blocking the entrance.

Williams has been charged with third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person.

Search warrants allegedly revealed that Williams left the children home unsupervised when the fire started, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators allege Williams was away from the apartment for nearly 50 minutes to facilitate a drug transaction. During a preliminary arraignment on May 8, a judge denied her bail request.

District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said, “This is a heartbreaking, but completely preventable tragedy. The evidence shows these young children were left without supervision in a situation where they needed their mother to protect them and keep them safe. That duty was abandoned, with devastating consequences.”

The children were identified in online obituaries as 5-year-old Tobias Ya’Shan Lee Huff, 3-year-old Da’Liyla Lelona Huff, and 5-month-old Amirah Al-Mansouri.

Tobias and Da’Liyla died the same day as the fire, while Amirah died several days later at a hospital.

“Tobias was a very helpful, crazy, funny 5-year-old. He loved being a big brother. He always wanted to make somebody feel loved by doing anything to make them smile. Tobias loved his family more than anything. He loved the color blue; he got that from his love for watching Sonic. He also loved food,” his obituary said.

“Da’Liyla was a daddy’s girl who loved pink. She spoke her mind and always told you how she felt. Happy, sad, mad, she is going to tell you. Da’Liyla loved trying on different clothes, especially dresses. She loved Elsa, we would have to watch Frozen 5 times a day. She also loved to dance. Da’Liyla would call everyone her ‘best friend,’ and to her, everyone was her best friend,” her obituary said. “Amirah was just born but had so much joy to bring. She was always happy and smiling, there was never a time she wasn’t. Amirah loved eating and loved watching her brother dance, she would laugh so hard watching him dance. She also loved sleeping and being held until she was ready to get put down for bed,” her obituary said.

Additionally, detectives alleged Williams initially provided a false account of her whereabouts, according to Erie News Now. She told authorities she had only been gone for about five minutes to visit Walmart, but surveillance footage showed she was away for a longer period.

Court documents also reference alleged phone records between Williams and Tyler Huff, the father of Tobias and Da’Liyla, who was incarcerated at the time.

In one call, Williams allegedly asked Huff whether he would go to Corry for “300.” In another conversation, she allegedly told him she was “heading out to Corry,” according to Erie News Now.

A witness later told investigators that Williams planned to purchase $300 worth of heroin or fentanyl, or both.

Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire. Williams remains jailed after being denied bail.