A Pregnant Mom and Her Small Children Died in House Fire. 2 Suspects

Authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with a deliberately set fire that claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and her two young children earlier this month in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood — a tragedy that has left the community reeling and grieving.

On Wednesday, June 25, the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) announced the arrests of Charles Sumpter, 67, and Fleitte Newell, 44, in connection with the deadly blaze.

Both have been charged with multiple counts of murder, arson, and related offenses stemming from the June 13 fire that killed 31-year-old Ashley Thompson, her 6-year-old son Assad Thompson, and her 4-year-old daughter Alaya Thompson-Newell.

According to a police statement, emergency crews responded to the scene shortly before 5 a.m. at a rowhome on the 2500 block of North Corlies Street. When firefighters arrived, they found the building fully engulfed in flames, forcing them to battle intense heat and smoke in their desperate attempt to reach the victims.

“While firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, five individuals were discovered inside the residence,” the police report read.
Thompson was found deceased on the second floor, while her children were rushed to a local hospital, where both later succumbed to their injuries.

The fire has since been determined to be an act of arson, and investigators believe the motive may have stemmed from a long-running family dispute over the ownership and control of the house.

Sherry Jackson, a 54-year-old woman who survived the fire, was able to escape with another child and has told reporters she believes the fire was no accident. Jackson is the sister of suspect Fleitte Newell, and she told NBC 10 that the two had been embroiled in an ongoing feud about the property for over a year. “She told me she would burn the house down with me in it,” Jackson told the outlet. “I reported the threat, but no one did anything.”

According to 6ABC, both Newell and Sumpter were interviewed by investigators on the day of the fire but were not taken into custody until more than 10 days later, after police obtained enough evidence to issue arrest warrants.

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