A 23-year-old Chicago man, Lontray Clark, is accused of setting ablaze an apartment building and killing four of its occupants as a result of an apparent act of jealousy. Among the dead are a pregnant woman and her 5-year-old son.
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As reported by CBS News, the incident occurred on June 26 at an apartment building located on West North Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. During a court appearance on Saturday, July 12, prosecutors alleged that the incident was the result of an apparent act of jealousy.
Cook County prosecutors stated in court that Clark had seen a picture of his ex-girlfriend with one of his friends. Jelous, Clark texted his ex-girlfriend, who went to sleep with her new boyfriend in his West North Avenue apartment.
Prosecutors allege that, after picking up his cousin, Clark went to a local gas station. There, he filled up an antifreeze container with gasoline. Then, he allegedly bought a black shirt, a mask, and a lighter from a convenience store.
At around 1:10 a.m., Clark and his cousin arrived at an alley behind the West North Avenue apartment building, as per the prosecutors. Allegedly, Clark walked to the apartment building with the gasoline container and came back while wearing the mask. He wasn’t carrying the gasoline anymore.
Then, the prosecutors alleged that he walked back to the apartment a second time. After returning to the vehicle, he moved it to another alley and went back to the apartment building again.
Finally, Clark allegedly came back running to the car and got in the driver’s seat. Prosecutors said that he told his cousin that he had just “lit they house on fire.”
Lethal Inferno
Clark’s ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend woke up at around 1:50 a.m., with their apartment building already on fire. They managed to escape with the boyfriend’s family by coming out of a window.
However, four people died in the blaze: Brad Cummings, 76, editor of The Voice, a local newspaper; Destiny Henry, 28; Regina Henry, 32, Destiny’s sister; and Jayceon Henry, 5, Regina’s son. Furthermore, a family member revealed that Regina was three months pregnant at the time of her death.
Around 140 firefighters responded to the fire and managed to rescue the surviving residents. Henry family relatives told authorities that they saw someone throw Molotov cocktails through the window.
On Wednesday, July 9, Lontray Clark was arrested after being identified. He was charged with eight counts of murder, four counts of aggravated arson, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of residential arson.
“It’s something that could have been avoided,” West Side Alderman Emma Mitts told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I don’t know what goes through people’s head. They should be locked up and the key thrown away behind all of that.”