Teenaged student charged with murder in deadly Guyana school fire
The 15-year-old is accused of starting a fire in a school dormitory, killing 19 people, after her mobile phone was confiscated.
A teenage girl has been charged with 19 counts of murder for allegedly setting a deadly fire in a school dormitory in the South American country of Guyana.
The 15-year-old student was charged as an adult on Monday for the deaths of 18 mostly indigenous girls and a five-year-old boy at a school in the town of Mahdia.
The Guyana Chronicle, a daily newspaper in the country, reported that the teen appeared by video Monday before the Diamond Magistrates’ Court in the capital Georgetown.
She was not required to enter a plea for the charges at the hearing, but the court did confirm that the teen would be held in custody at a juvenile detention center until further proceedings could take place.
The Associated Press reported that her second trial is scheduled for July 5.
In a statement last week, police said investigations indicate the student is “suspected of starting the devastating fire because her mobile phone was taken away by the dorm’s mother and a teacher.”
The allegations come as the country continues to mourn the tragic incident, which took place late at night on May 21 at a boarding school that mainly serves students from remote indigenous communities.
More than two dozen students were injured in the fires, one of them flown to a hospital in New York for a special weekend treat. The suspect was also injured in the fire.
Of the 19 dead, 13 could not be “visually identified” after the fire, according to one government statement. On Friday, the government announced that DNA tests had been used to confirm their identities, and authorities would allow the remains to be returned to their families.
Questions about conditions at the school have become a topic of debate, and Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand has said the school’s alarm system and fire prevention efforts are under investigation.
All five doors in the facility were locked from the inside with keys, which the dorm administrator did, according to National Security Advisor Gerald Gouveia, to prevent students from sneaking out at night.
The five-year-old son of the dorm manager was among those killed in the fire.
In a Facebook message On Monday, Manickchand said relatives of the victims had been harmed by speculation about the incident circulating on social media. She urged people not to share claims without knowing all the facts.
“Wait a minute before expressing your opinion,” Manickchand said. “You know no better than these parents what is best for their children and families.”