Officials probe Miss. apartment fire that killed 9

[December 29, 2009]  STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Investigators were working to figure out what sparked a Mississippi apartment fire that killed six children and three women.

Arson wasn't suspected, and while neighbors indicated the building had electrical problems, the fire chief said a private company's recent inspection found no troubles. Autopsies were ordered on the bodies of the three women.

"A fire investigation is like a puzzle," Fire Chief Rodger Mann said. "We've got to get enough pieces of the puzzle to get a picture of what happened."

The fire gutted a rundown complex Monday, killing several family members taken in because they had nowhere else to go, officials and neighbors said.

The victims were India Williams, 25, and her three children, along with her cousin, Castella "Maria" Bell, 18, and her three children. The ninth victim was 20-year-old Lakesha Gillespie, identified by the West Memorial Funeral Home as a friend. The children were ages 6 months to 6 years.

Latasha Brown, who lives downstairs, said she never heard smoke detectors. A neighbor banged on her door around 4 a.m. to get her out. She grabbed her 3-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter and ran barefoot into the cold.

"It was horrifying," said Brown, 28. "I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Several neighbors said the apartments at the Academy Crossing complex had electrical problems, though complex owner Mildred Rollins said she was not aware of them. She would not comment further.

Neighbors said Williams, who worked at a fast food restaurant, took in Bell and her children recently because they had fallen on hard times. They said Williams and Gillespie were a couple.

"They were the kindest people who would not turn away a friend, especially when she had kids," Brown said.

Ramona Doss, who lives across the parking lot in another of the complex's six two-story red brick apartment buildings, said Williams would often bring her plates of home-cooked food, and Williams's children called her "Grandma" even though they are not related.

"Those babies just had Christmas," Doss said. "They used to say 'Grandma, you got any more candy?' I'll never hear that from them again."

Academy Crossing is in Starkville, a city of about 24,000 full-time residents in eastern Mississippi that is also home to Mississippi State University.

Kiara Williams, 19, who lives in an adjacent building and is not related to India Williams, said she woke up to see flames pouring from the apartment and called Gillespie's cell phone. There was no answer.

"I was just over there last night," she said, shaking her head as she stared at the gutted apartment. "She was like a sister to me."

She said the women were friendly people who could often be seen around the complex playing with the children.

Doss was still shaken Monday as she recalled opening her door to see flames across the way.

"The glass just blew and made a sound like a bomb," Doss said. "It's a tragedy in Academy Crossing."

The children killed were identified as Kamarion Williams, 2, Jacorian Vasser, 6, Richard Vasser, 5, Ta'Nayia Bell, 4, Jayvion Bell, 3, and Sumaya Bell, 6 months.

[Associated Press; By HOLBROOK MOHR]

Associated Press writer Jack Elliott Jr. in Jackson contributed to this report.

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