LITTLE ROCK — JACKSON, Miss. - Six children and three adults killed in a Mississippi apartment fire died of smoke inhalation, and their deaths were an accident, the coroner said Tuesday.
Investigators, meanwhile, were still working to figure out what sparked the blaze early Monday morning in the east Mississippi town of Starkville, killing several family members taken in because they had nowhere else to go.
The victims were India Williams, 25, and her three children, Kamarion Williams, 2, Jacorian Vasser, 6, Richard Vasser, 5; her cousin, Castella “Maria” Bell, 18, and her three children, Ta’Nayia Bell, 4, Jayvion Bell, 3, and Sumaya Bell, 6 months. The ninth victim was 20-year-old Lakesha Gillespie, identified by the West Memorial Funeral Home as a friend.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/30/2009