An Illinois mother was charged in the deaths of her five children on Wednesday after she allegedly left them unattended and they died in a house fire.
Sabrina Dunigan, 34, was said to have left their apartment to pick up her boyfriend from work when the fire broke out on her birthday on August 6 at around 3am.
Her children were identified as Deontae Davis, nine, twins Heaven and Neveah Dunigan, eight, Jabari Johnson, four, and Loy-el Dunigan, two.
She was charged with five felony counts of endangering the life of a child resulting in death.
The cause of the fire, however, has still not been determined.
Illinois mother Sabrina Dunigan, 34, was charged in the deaths of her five children on Wednesday
Dunigan's children Heaven, seven, (top left) and twin sister Neveah (bottom left), Jabari Johnson, four (center), Deontae Davis, nine, (bottom right) and Loy-el Duncan, two, (top right) died on the night of the fire
The fire broke out at the East St Louis apartment building on August 6 at around 3 am
Dunigan saw her home engulfed in flames after she returned from her early morning errand.
She had unsuccessfully attempted to run back into the home to save them and had reportedly suffered from burns as a result.
Crews from the East St Louis Fire Department found two of the children dead inside a bedroom and the other three unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Two of them died while being rushed outside by fire crews and the other child Neveah died on the way to the hospital of smoke inhalation.
'They are blameless in this. They're just kids. It's tough,' Assistant Fire Chief George McClellan of the East St. Louis Fire Department told KMOV-TV.
Dunigan had lived in the apartment with her children for only five months. The home was split in half with her father and his wife in the back of the home and Dunigan with her children in the front
Dunigan is pictured with two of her children, Heaven and Deontae
