GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Families who have experienced a house fire grapple with a range of emotions like grief and stress, depending on the extent of the loss. When I was a child, one of my older brothers fell a sleep in front of the television while cooking something late one night.

A Grand Rapids mother has pleaded not guilty to setting her house on fire, but admitted she intended to die with her daughters "so they could be free."

Roconda Singleton, 46, was arraigned on a felony murder charge in Grand Rapids District Court on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Singleton is accused of setting her home on fire while her three children were asleep inside. Her 12-year-old daughter died two days later from injuries suffered in the blaze. Bradley Massman | MLive.com

The mother told Grand Rapids officials she removed all the smoke alarms before setting the house on fire while her three daughters were asleep.

A western Michigan woman is accused of setting a house fire that killed her 12-year-old daughter who was trapped in a bedroom

A Grand Rapids mother faces arson charges after investigators say she set fire to her home with her children inside, sending one of her daughters to the hospital, where she later died.

A woman has been charged with arson and child abuse for a house fire she allegedly set that killed one of her three daughters. Roconda Singleton, 46, appeared for a virtual arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 28,

Shamiya Stewart, 12, died two days after a fire her mother allegedly admitted to setting off, per police. Shamiya's two younger siblings survived the fire.

Officials arrested the woman, identified as Roconda Singleton, 46, on multiple charges in connection with the fire. A 12-year-old child was in critical condition at a hospital following the fire but two other children, ages 10 and 7, were treated and released over the weekend, according to authorities.