Worcester Woman Charged With Murder In Gage Street Fatal Fire

WORCESTER, MA — A Worcester woman has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder in connection to the quadruple fatal fire along Gage Street in May.

Yvonne Ngoiri, 36, has also been charged with two counts of assault and battery, two counts of arson and one count of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury. Ngoiri was a tenant on the second floor of the three-story Gage Street building before the fire.

"Investigators determined that the origin of the fire was an area in the rear of 2 Gage St. and the cause was determined to be incendiary," the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said in a news release late Thursday.

Ngoiri pleaded not guilty to all charges during an arraignment at Worcester County Superior Court Friday morning. She was ordered held pending her next court date at the end of November.

The 2 Gage St. fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. on May 14. The fire traveled up the rear stairs of the building, trapping several people on the upper floor, witnesses have said. One third-floor tenant, Aaliyah Hazard, jumped form a third-floor window seeing no other escape from the fire.

The four victims were Joseph Garchali, 47; Christopher Lozeau, 53; Vincent Page, 41; and Marcel Fontaine, 29. They died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, the DA's office said.

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