NC authorities: Toddlers without adult supervision die in house fire; mom charged with murder

Unattended toddlers die in NC fire; mother charged

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say two toddlers left without adult supervision have died in a house fire, and their mother has been charged with murder.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Bob Fey said in a news release that 26-year-old Orgal Opata was arrested Sunday afternoon. She also was charged with four counts of exposing a child to a fire.

In all, investigators say four children, ages 7, 4, 2 and 1, were in the house when the fire started early Sunday morning.

A neighbor was credited with getting the two older children out, but 2-year-old Josiah Hawthorne and 1-year-old Gabriel Hawthorne died. The fire department said the fire was accidental and involved a kerosene heater.

Fey said he didn’t know if Opata has an attorney.