Mom Guilty In Arson Deaths Of Girls

A mother accused of setting a rowhouse fire that killed her two young daughters was convicted Friday of murder and arson.

Prosecutors said Rene Aulton had hoped to get rid of her daughters - ages 2 and 4 - in hopes of reviving her relationship with her boyfriend.

Upon hearing the verdict, Aulton, 27, hung her head on her chest and wept silently. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison without parole at sentencing April 12.

In a taped confession she later recanted in court, Aulton told police she started the 1994 fire by lighting a wad of notebook paper and tossing it into the girls’ closet.