A New York woman is on trial after police say she intentionally started a fire that killed a 5-year-old boy.
According to ABC 13, Taquida Hendrix, 31, has been charged with murder and arson, in connection with the 2024 house fire death of Malakai Stoval.
Hendrix is currently on trial in Rochester.
Prosecutors said the incident happened on July 28, 2024, at a two-story home on Portland Avenue. Malakai, who had been in his bed sleeping when the fire engulfed the home, was trapped on the second floor.
He had burns on over 75 percent of his body and later died at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Two other defendants in the case, the defendant’s sister, Tiakayla Hendrix, and Roy Chambers, pleaded guilty last month to arson and have agreed to testify against Taquida Hendrix.
Tiakayla Hendrix and Chambers allegedly served as lookouts while the defendant poured gasoline on the home’s front porch. Prosectuors said the sisters were retaliating against someone they thought had attacked their father.
News 10 reports that police said the child was not the intended target. His parents were out of town at the time, and he was in the home with a babysitter.
The babysitter was later treated for smoke inhalation.
During an August news conference last year, Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police Department said that Malakai’s family “had absolutely nothing to do with the tragedy that occurred.”
“They had no connection to anything that may have precipitated the setting of the house on fire.”
Taquida Hendrix’s attorney, however, said the defendant didn’t know a child was inside the home and denied her involvement in setting the actual fire.
“She certainly did not know there was a child inside that building at the time,” her lawyer, Rhian Jones, said. “She had no role in actually setting the fire itself.”
Sentencing for the two others defendants is scheduled for September 29.
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Malakai Stoval/Handout]
