MIAMI – An ongoing investigation into a deadly fire that killed four children could lead to charges filed against a family member.
Flames erupted inside a Miami home on Dec. 30, killing three children and badly injuring a fourth, who died two days later.
A warrant obtained by Local 10 News gave new details into why the children were left home alone and how evidence may have been tampered with.
According to the warrant, the children’s grandmother, Norma Bonilla, told police she left the children alone to buy groceries, saying she had done it at least a dozen times.
While Bonilla was shopping, the oldest child called her, screaming that the house was on fire and that they were trapped inside.
Bonilla called the children's mother, who was working at Miami International Airport.
Authorities said that after the fire, during their investigation, an insurance investigator observed a smoke detector had been installed in the home that was not there when the fire started. The investigator told authorities it was too clean to have been in the fire despite it having burn marks to make it look as though it had been there the whole time.
The four children were identified as Heilyn Mejia, 11, Nainalee Lopez, 8, Nomar Lopez, 6, and Naziyah Fernandez, 1.