QUEENS, N.Y. — A Queens woman has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder and arson for allegedly setting a fire that killed two people in a garage in Jamaica earlier this month, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Aliya Fakhri, 43, is accused of deliberately igniting the blaze that trapped her boyfriend, Edward Jacobs, 35, and Anastasia Ettienne, 33, in a detached garage on 91st Avenue on November 2. Both victims died from smoke inhalation and severe burns, officials said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Fakhri intentionally started the fire near the entrance, cutting off any possible escape for those inside. “As alleged in this indictment, this defendant maliciously ended the lives of two people by setting a fire that trapped a man and woman in a raging inferno,” Katz stated.
According to the charges, Fakhri arrived at the scene shortly before 6:30 a.m. and shouted, “You’re all going to die today” at Jacobs, who was inside. A witness reportedly discovered the fire shortly after, but efforts to save Jacobs and Ettienne were unsuccessful as flames overtook the structure.
Fakhri has been charged with four counts each of first- and second-degree murder, as well as first- and second-degree arson. She was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court before Justice John Zoll and remains in custody without bail. Her next court date is December 9.
If convicted on the top charge, Fakhri faces life in prison.