Arson ruled in Cleveland's deadliest house fire that kills nine

Jet, June 20, 2005

A pre-dawn blaze labeled as Cleveland's deadliest house fire recently took the lives of nine people during a birthday celebration for a young teenager.

The blaze initially was called an accident, but later was found to be the result of arson. The fire took the lives of eight extended family members and a family friend who were celebrating a birthday with a sleepover.

The victims killed in the fire were Medeia Carter, 33; Earnest Tate Jr., 13; Devonte Carter, 15; Maleeya Williams, 12; Fakih Jones, 7; Antwon Jackson Jr., 14; Shauntavia Mitchell, 12; and Moses Williams Jr., who was celebrating his 14th birthday. The dead also included Miles Cockfield, 13, who attended the party but was not related to the others.

One man escaped unharmed from the fire, and one woman survived but was critically burned. At JET press time her condition was upgraded to fair.

All of the victims died of smoke inhalation, and three were burned so badly that DNA samples from family members were needed to confirm identifications.

Medeia Carter died in the fire with four of her six children. During the funeral her mother Evelyn Martin said, "I am grateful to God that she went with the babies and the babies went with her."

Authorities became suspicious of the fire partly because of how quickly it spread. "We had young, able-bodied people who we believe had a smoke detector warning and weren't able to evacuate. I think that got our attention the most," Fire Chief Paul Stubbs said.

The state fire marshal confirmed tests indicating an accelerant, something like gasoline, was used to spread the fire. No suspect was identified at JET press time.

A crowd estimated at 4,000 attended the two-hour funeral service at the Cleveland Convention Center. Burial for all nine was arranged at Whitehaven Memorial Park in suburban Richmond Heights in plots donated by a retired police detective and the cemetery.