Man Indicted For Setting Fire That Killed His Baby, 3 Others

MERCER COUNTY, NJ – A Trenton man was indicted on several charges for setting fire to a home in Hamilton that caused the deaths of four people including his infant daughter and her grandparents.

A Mercer County grand jury returned a 15-count indictment this week charging Michael Sanders with setting the Hamilton fire over the summer, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced Friday.

Sanders, 23, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree felony murder, four counts of second-degree aggravated assault, two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, and one count of second-degree causing or risking widespread injury or damage.

On July 9, around 3:40 a.m., a fire started at a two-story home in 213 Woodlawn Avenue, quickly spreading across the wood frame duplex, causing a partial roof collapse. Nine-month-old Malani Sanders and her 42-year-old grandmother Tiffany Abrams-Jones were found dead at the scene, authorities said.

Read More Here: Man Charged With Murder In Fire That Killed His Baby, 2 Others

Three people were transported to the hospital with critical burn injuries and the baby’s grandfather, 50-year-old Prince Jones, succumbed to his injuries on July 11. Zamair McRae died a few weeks later, Onofri said.

Authorities said Detectives retrieved video from numerous cameras in the area and spoke to witnesses who told them that leading up to the fire, the baby's mother received a text from Sanders, telling her to get their child out of the house.

Authorities said Sanders took a taxi from Trenton and was dropped off approximately one block from 213 Woodlawn Avenue a little after 3 a.m. Sanders, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head, a mask, and white gloves, walked past the residence towards Greenwood Avenue around 15 minutes before the fire started, authorities said.

Surveillance video from a gas station on Greenwood Avenue, showed Sanders making a purchase of what appears to be a dark-colored torch lighter and cigars, Onofri said. Sanders walked back to his home in Trenton, no longer wearing a mask or gloves, authorities said.

Detectives canvassing the area recovered a dark hooded sweatshirt a few doors down from Sanders' residence in the bottom of a basement stairway, the prosecutor's office said.

Sanders is currently being held in the Mercer County Correction Center pending trial.

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