Quincy landlord pleads guilty to manslaughter charges in 2009 apartment fire

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

A Quincy landlord pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of manslaughter and all other charges against her after allowing a father and his two sons to live in an illegal apartment that lacked smoke detectors and a second fire exit, conditions that lead to their death in 2009.

According to District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, Jinny Xue Ma, 34, is one of three landlords charged in the case, in which her apartment complex turned into a death trap for three members of a Quincy family.

A lamp sparked a fire on March 25, 2009 at the 100 Robertson Road residence, claiming the life of Oudah Moshah Frawi, 39, his two-month old son Hassan Frawi, and his year-old son Ali Oudah Frawi.

Frawi’s wife, also the mother of the children, survived with serious burn injuries.

According to a press release, Ma pled guilty yesterday in Norfolk Superior Court to three counts of manslaughter, four counts of wanton or reckless violation of the state building code (causing serious bodily injury or death), and one count perjury for falsifying documents related to the property.

Assistant DA Lynn Beland asked presiding Judge Kenneth Fishman to impose a 12- to 15-year sentence in state prison. Ma will serve 2 ˝ years in the House of correction, with six months to serve, followed by three years of probation.

Conditions of probation include performing 200 hours of community service.

Ma was taken to jail yesterday from the courtroom to begin serving her sentence.

"This was a senseless loss of life and a tremendous shock to the city of Quincy," Morrissey said. "We felt that significant state prison time was warranted by the facts and loss of life in this case and based our sentence request on that."

The case against the other remaining landlords – Jason Huang and his brother Andy Huang, remain open and pending in Norfolk Superior Court. They are due back in court Nov. 8.

According to Morrissey, although one of the parties has been found guilty, the constitutional presumption of the remaining defendant’s innocence remains intact.