Mar 13, 2007 6:33 pm US/Central
Prosecutors: Woman Set Fatal Fire With Dollar Bill
Police: Mary Smith Admitted To Setting Fire That Killed 4
Victims' Families Sue Building Management For Faulty Locks
CBS 2's Rafael Romo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A homeless woman charged with starting a fire that left four people dead in a Wrigleyville apartment building apparently began the blaze using a dollar given to her by a visitor to the building.
Bond has been denied for Mary Smith, 43, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated arson, in the Saturday morning fire in an apartment building at 3553 N. Fremont St., just about a block from Wrigley Field.
She will be held at the Cook County Jail's hospital facility, after Cook County Criminal Judge Colleen Hyland granted that request from Assistant Public Defender Dayna Woodbury.
Woodbury said she hopes Smith receives the treatment she needs at the hospital.
"All indications are she is seriously mentally ill," Woodbury said.
Assistant State's Attorney Mary Lacy said Smith -- identified after witnesses reported seeing an unkempt woman wearing clear plastic bags on her feet near the scene of four fires Saturday morning -- gave a videotaped statement to police after she was arrested in a coffee shop. Officials confirmed during the bond hearing that Smith is homeless.
Lacy said Tuesday that one of the witnesses who identified Smith saw her in the vestibule of the three-story building where the fourth, fatal fire occurred. The man, who was visiting one of the victims killed in the fire, said he gave her a dollar.
Smith told investigators that she used the dollar to start the fire in the building in order to warm her feet because she'd lost her shoes earlier in the night, Lacy said.
As the fire began burning quickly, Smith said she left the building and could see smoke pouring from it and hear people calling for help, Lacy said.
Police believe that was the fourth fire she started that day.
Police identified Smith after witnesses reported seeing her near the scene of three small fires, said Edward O'Donnell, commander of the police department's bomb and arson unit.
"A man who was walking his dog observed Mary Smith standing outside the Fremont building approximately 15 minutes before the fire ignited," said police Deputy Supt. Hiram Grau.
Dr. Ted Handrup said he saw Smith on the morning of the fire.
"She looked very confused, very disheveled; talking to herself," Handrup said. "She wasn't yelling and screaming... (but) certainly, you would not think of her as a normal person."
When asked if her behavior gave him pause, Handrup said, "Yes, definitely."
Smith was arrested in a coffee shop. She appeared coherent and calm, police said.
Jennifer Carlson, 24, and Jason Bowers, 23, who were among those renting the third-floor apartment, died in the fire, according to friends and family. Family members originally feared Carlson's 4-year-old son also perished in the fire, but discovered he was staying with a baby sitter because his mother had worked a late shift in a restaurant.
Also killed in the fire were Jerod Pilgreen and Joseph Schultz. All four victims grew up in Belvidere.
A fifth victim survived and was listed in critical condition after jumping or falling from a window, O'Donnell said.
Police said Smith used a chemical to ignite the fire in a stairwell between the second and third floors, and that the flames spread through the apartment's front door.
It was unclear how Smith gained access to the building, officials said.
Attorneys for the victims' families filed a lawsuit today. They blame the building's management for not maintaining proper locks.
"Had this lock been in effect and been working properly, it is our contention that the person would never have been allowed to go up to the second floor," said Phillip Corboy, attorney for the vicitms' families.
Today the personal injury Law Firm of Corboy and Demetrio also filed an emergency motion to reivew the building's maintenance files.
"It's a vehicle to allow gathering information because these families certainly have the right to have this incident investigated fully," said Robert Bingle, also an attorney for the victims' families.
It is also possible that somebody gave smith access to the building by buzzing her in, but so far there is no evidence of that.
Police Bomb and Arson Section Cmdr. Edward O'Donnell said one small fire was started with papers in a building stairwell, a sweater was set on fire on a sidewalk and a third was set with papers on a front porch. A homeowner extinguished one of the fires, and the other two were extinguished by the time firefighters arrived, he said.
Prosecutors said Monday that Smith's last-known address was a Salvation Army homeless shelter. A shelter employee said the facility does not house women, but some people use the address to receive mail. Records indicate she has had a few minor scrapes with the law – mostly trespassing.
Outside the building on Tuesday morning, there was a memorial for the victims made up of flowers and mylar balloons.
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