Suffolk DA: Lover's quarrel preceded fatal South Boston fire
By Donovan Slack and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
The girlfriend of the mother of two young sisters killed in a South Boston fire was arrested today on murder and arson charges.
 Sophia, 3, and Acia Johnson, 14 |
Nicole Chuminski, 25, was arrested earlier this afternoon in Lowell and charged with the deaths of Acia Johnson, 14, and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia. Chuminski is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in South Boston District Court on two counts of murder and one count of arson.
The sisters died of smoke inhalation and burns when a fire swept through their West Sixth Street home on April 6. Investigators have determined that the fire was started near the front door and quickly spread through the single-family rowhouse. The sisters huddled in a third-floor closet and were trapped under debris.
After a bitter lover’s quarrel, Chuminski “deliberately and maliciously” set her girlfriend’s house on fire, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said at a news conference this afternoon. “That fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire building,” he said.
Conley declined to provide details about the argument or any other events that led up to the fire. He said investigators were able to match an accelerant found at the fire scene with residue on Chuminski’s clothes after the fire.
Today’s arrest in Lowell was the result of that physical evidence, interviews with witnesses, and testimony before a grand jury that was convened last month. Conley said the grand jury is still hearing evidence and the investigation is continuing.
What has been uncovered so far, however, was enough to warrant today’s arrest, he said.
“Much work remains to be done,” Conley said. “Today we have reached a milestone, however, and we know the day is near when we will speak in court for two young children were tragically, senselessly taken, and who died with only each other to cling to in their final moments.”
The girls' mother, Anna Reisopoulos, was hospitalized after the blaze with critical injuries and released more than a week later.
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