Mother, kids die in fire

JACKSON, Miss. – Linda Simmons Henderson walked around the burned-out apartment building and shook her head.

“They said it was something to do with the stove,” the 54-year-old Mississippi woman said Saturday evening. “They said it was an accident. I just know my babies are gone, all five of them.”

Henderson’s daughter and four young grandchildren, ages 2 to 7, had died hours earlier when an early morning fire swept through their second-story Jackson apartment early Saturday.

Family members identified the victims as 28-year-old Dominique Henderson; her daughter Akyerria, 7; and her three sons Bryceston, 4, Cylor, 3, and Ethan, 2.

Chief Fire Investigator Greg Travis said the fire broke out shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday. Investigators believe the fire may have started in the kitchen, but the cause was still under investigation.

Travis said the mother and two of the children were found dead in a bedroom; two other children were pulled from the building but died after they were taken to a hospital.